By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota track and field teams close out the indoor portion of their 2019 season on this weekend, taking part in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, hosted by St. Olaf. Action begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.
 
The MIAC Indoor Championships Field:
• Augsburg, Bethel, Carleton, Concordia, Gustavus, Hamline, Macalester, St. Catherine, Saint John's, Saint Benedict, Saint Mary's, St. Olaf, St. Thomas
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Results * Live Video | Meet Schedule | Championships Homepage | Previews: Men * Women
 
MIAC Indoor Championships — A Year Ago:
February 22-24, 2018 | Macalester College * St. Paul, Minn.
• Men: St. Thomas remains the only champion in MIAC men's indoor track and field history, as the Tommies claimed their 34th consecutive conference championship. The Tommies garnered 168 points to edge out Carleton (123) and Bethel (98) for first place at the annual meet. Hamline placed fourth with 81 points, followed by Saint John's (71), Gustavus (61), St. Olaf (60), Saint Mary's (49), Concordia (27), Augsburg (26) and Macalester (16) | Men's Championships Recap * 2018 Championships Homepage
 
• Women: For the 19th consecutive season, St. Thomas has swept the MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, as the UST women claimed victory — again. The Tommies finished with 171.50 points. Bethel came in second with 88 points, narrowly beating out St. Olaf (87), Carleton (78.50), Saint Benedict (76.50), and Hamline (74.50). Gustavus ended up seventh with 64 points, followed by Macalester (42), Saint Mary's (33), Augsburg (24), Concordia (21), and St. Catherine (20) | Women's Championships Recap * 2018 Championships Homepage
 
Saint Mary's at MIAC Outdoor Championships—A Year Ago:
• Day 1: The Cardinals got a first-place effort from Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) in the long jump and Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn.) — competing in his final conference indoor championships — in the 800 to lead the way for the Cardinals during the first day of the indoor season-ending conference championships at Macalester | Recap
• Day 2: Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) — who posted a winning leap of 5.38 meters in the long jump competition — completed the conference double by equaling her school-record leap of 11.74 meters to win the triple. Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn.) joined his female counterpart in standing atop the MIAC podium for a second time, as the Cardinal senior followed up his conference-winning performance in the 800 by shattering his own school record in running away from the 600 field in collecting conference title No. 2 with a time of 1:21.50 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's MIAC Indoor Qualifiers:
• Men: Kyle Lichttenegger (60, 200, Long Jump, High Jump, 4x200); Matt Boone (60, 200, 4x200, 4x400); Nathan Hoglund (600, 4x400); Tanner Moris (Mile); Isaiah Olsem (DMR); Jordan Malikowski (DMR); Christian Beamer (Heptathlon, High Jump); Ben Borash (600, 4x400); David Kemper (Pole Vault); Matthew Stack (Pole Vault); Desmond Steward (Long Jump, Triple Jump, 4x200); Tyler Amy (Shot put); Andrew Allemann (4x200, DMR, 4x400); Dean Marlin (Triple Jump)
• Women: Sydney Klausler (60, 200, 4x200, 4x400, Long Jump); Alicia Schurrer (60, 200, 4x200, 4x400); Kynzie Smedsrud (60 hurdles, 4x200, 4x400); Hannah Crowe (4x200, 4x400, DMR); Danielle Franke (DMR); Julia VanWatermeulen (DMR); Anna Marinc (DMR); Rachel Ohde (High Jump)
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Men's Roster | 2019 Women's Roster | 2019 Schedule | Record Book
• Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) and Desmond Steward (Bayside, Wis.) head into this weekend's conference championships on the heels of stellar performances at last Saturday's St. Olaf Tostrud Classic. Lichttenegger raced to a first in the 60, clocking a time of 7.08, while adding a second in the 200, stopping the clock in 23.04. Steward, meanwhile, won the triple jump with a leap of 13.75 meters and chipped in a fourth in the long jump with a mark of 6.48 meters. … Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis.) continued to be a force to be reckoned with in the high jump, as the junior won the event with a season-best leap of 1.66 meters at the University of Minnesota Invitational last weekend. Ohde has now placed first or second in all six of the Cardinals' indoor meets this season. … David Kemper (Woodbury, Minn.) broke the 14-year-old school record in the pole vault — clearing 4.61 meters — while Steward uncorked a career-best leap of 14.00 meters in the triple jump to lead the way for the Cardinal men at the St. Thomas Showcase on Feb. 8. Ohde led the Cardinal women's charge at the St. Thomas Showcase, placing second in the high jump with a leap of 1.63 meters. … The Cardinals garnered six first-place finishes — and one meet record — at the Luther Alumni Meet on Feb. 2. Ohde led the way for the Cardinals, winning the women's high jump with a meet-record 1.62-meter leap. … Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) and Kynzie Smedsrud (Luverne, Minn.) also earned first-place honors for the Cardinal women at the Luther Alumni Meet on Feb. 2 — Klausler winning the 200 (26.88) and Smedsrud taking the 400 (1:07.93). … Lichttenegger won the 60 (6.61), with Christian Beamer (Two Harbors, Minn.) adding a first in the high jump (1.89m) and the 4x200 relay team posting a winning time of 1:34.48 to pace the at the Feb. 2 Luther. … Desmond Steward (Bayside, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinals at the UW-Stout Warren Bowlus Invitational on Jan. 26, collecting the teams' lone first-place finish with a leap of 13.79 meters in the triple jump. … Lichttenegger led the way for the Cardinal men at the UW-Stout Open on Jan. 19, winning the high jump with a leap of 1.83 meters, while Steward chipped in a second in the triple jump (13.58m) and Jon Meaden (Rosemount, Minn.) added a second in the 800 (2:08.78). … On the women's side at the UW-Stout Open, Ohde delivered a second-place mark of 1.63 meters in the high jump, and the 4x400 relay team of Alicia Schurrer (Forest Lake, Minn.), Kynzie Smedsrud (Luverne, Minn.), Hannah Crowe (Baraboo, Wis.), and Klausler posted a fourth-place time of 4:20.94. … Steward recorded a leap of 13.72 meters to easily win the triple jump, while adding a mark of 6.39 meters to win the long jump at the indoor season-opening Cardinal Early Birdinal on Jan. 12. … Along with Steward's effort, the Cardinals boasted nine other first-place finishes at the Early Birdinal.