By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
LA CROSSE, Wis. — It took a week longer than they had hoped, but the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota track and field teams finally kicked off their 2019 outdoor season Saturday afternoon.
 
And for the Cardinals, it was worth the wait.
 
The Cardinals recorded 12 Top 10 performances — including a first-place showing from Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis.) and a trio of second-place efforts — at the UW-La Crosse Ashton May Invitational.
 
Ohde, who dominated the indoor season, picked up right where she left off, winning the high jump with a leap of 1.68 meters, while David Kemper (Woodbury, Minn.), Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.), and Christian Beamer (Two Harbors, Minn.) recorded second-place showings — Kemper placing second in the pole vault (4.60 meters), Lichttenegger in the 100 with a school-record time of 10.74, and Beamer in the high jump (1.88m).
 
Desmond Steward (Bayside, Wis.) added a fourth in the long jump (6.65m), while he, Lichttenegger, Noah Anderson, and Matthew Boone (Mindoro, Wis.) delivered in a fourth in the 4x100, stopping the clock in 43.51.
 
Anderson recorded a time of 22.51 to place seventh in the 200, while Jacob Homan (North Mankato, Minn.) and Tyler Northey (Esko, Minn.) collected eighths in the shot put (11.21m) and 5,000 (18:50.06), respectively. Anthony Pasquesi (Elmwood Park, Ill. / long jump, 6.16) and Boone (200, 22.80) delivered ninth-place performances, and Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn. / 200, 26.01) notched an 11-place time, and Nathan Hogland (Chippewa Falls, WIs. / 800, 2:05.62) and Dean Marlin (Sauk Rapids, Minn. / triple jump, 12.01m) finished 12th.
 
The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday, heading to St. Peter, Minn., to compete in the Gustavus Lee Krough Invitational.