By RYAN BUCHMEIER
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's track and field teams have proven to be the big fish in the little pond early on in the 2018 indoor season.
 
That all changed on Friday evening.
 
More than 21 teams joined the Cardinals at the Anderson Fieldhouse, as Saint Mary's took part in the St. Thomas Showcase.
 
And the Cardinals did not disappoint.
 
The Cardinal men's 4x200 relay team of Andrew Allemann (Cochrane, Wis.), Noah Anderson (Roseville, Min.), Gordy Paulman (Deforest, Wis.), and Matthew Boone (Mindoro, Wis.)—despite some pre-race technical difficulties—were untouchable, winning the event with a time of 1:33.24.
 
Desmond Steward (Bayside, Wis.) and Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) also had solid outings Friday, earning top-five finishes in their respective events.
 
Steward finished third in the triple jump (13.86m) and seventh in the long jump (6.53m), while Lichttenegger finished fifth in the 60 (7.17)—beating out 36 other racers. Alleman, Boone, Kody Michaels (Stoddard, Wis.), and Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn.) teamed to place third in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:29.86
 
For the women, Alicia Berkenes (Buffalo, Minn.) finished fifth in the 1000 with a time of 3:20.77, while Maria Missurelli (Franklin, Wis.) took fifth in the pole vault, clearing 3.11 meters.
 
The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday, traveling to Stevens Point, Wis., to take part in the UW-Stevens Point Big Dawg Invitational.