By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — After a handful of "pop quizzes" to kick off the 2019 indoor season, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota track and field teams got their first real test Friday evening.
 
The Cardinals toed the line against several Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes for the first time this season — St. Thomas, Hamline, St. Olaf, Carleton, Augsburg, Macalester and St. Catherine — while also going head-to-head against several other NCAA Division I, II and III schools in the 18-team field.
 
And it's safe to say the Cardinals passed with flying colors.
 
David Kemper (Woodbury, Minn.) broke the 14-year-old school record in the pole vault — clearing 4.61 meters — while Desmond Steward (Bayside, Wis.) uncorked a career-best leap of 14.00 meters in the triple jump to lead the way for the Cardinals.
 
Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis.) matched her season-best height, delivering a leap of 1.63 meters to place second in the women's high jump, while Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) added a fourth-place showings in the men's long jump (6.69m).
 
Jacob Tschida chipped in a fourth-place time of 2:49.42 in the 1,000, while Isaiah Olsem (Fulda, Minn. / sixth in 3,000, 9:20.06), Jordan Malikowski (Royalton, Minn. / seventh in 3000, 9:21.43), and Dean Marlin (Sauk Rapids, Minn. / ninth in triple jump, 11.94m) also recorded Top 10 performances for the Cardinal men.
 
On the women's side, Julia VanWatermeulen (Ellsworth, Wis.) posted a fifth-place time of 1:52.15 in the 600 and Emily Ortiz (Albert Lea, Minn.) was sixth in the 3000, stopping the clock in 12:35.93.
 
The Cardinals are back on the road next Saturday, Feb. 16, when they head to Dubuque, Iowa, to take part in the University of Dubuque Spartan Invitational.