ST. PAUL, MINN. – Professors always say that a strong conclusion is the most important part of a paper or presentation. The same can be said for athletic events and competitions. A strong ending is just as important as a strong beginning, and that is exactly what the Saint Mary's University track and field teams did on the final day of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, May 11. Fueled by more top-8 finishes, the Cardinals finished ninth in the men's competition with 36 total points while the women finished in 11^th with 16 team points.
 
The men's 4x100 relay team provided one of the top and fastest highlights of the day, as the team of Matthew Boone (Mindoro, Wis. / Melrose-Mindoro), Desmond Steward (Bayside, Wis. / Nicolet), Noah Anderson and Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) took second place in the relay behind a time of 41.94. The time was just .26 off the school record they set earlier this season and was good enough to earn All-Conference honors for the four Cardinal sprinters.

Lichttenegger — coming off a school-record, third-place showing in the long jump (6.99 meters) on Friday, locked up his third All-MIAC performance Saturday in the 200, placing second in a time of 22.00.
 
Steward's good day didn't end with the 4x100 relay, as the senior also earned All-MIAC honors with his performance in triple jump. The senior flew 13.72 meters to land in third place in the competition, earning his second All-Conference honor of the weekend and six points towards Saint Mary's overall team score.
 
The Cardinals 4x400 relay team just missed the podium, as the team of Boone, Andrew Allemann (Cochrane, Wis. / Cochrane-Fountain City), Ben Borash (Bowlas, Minn. / Royalton) and Steward came in ninth with a time of 3:30.91.
 
Sophomore Tanner Moris (Crandon, Minn. / Crandon) competed in the 5000m run, finishing with a time of 16:23.81. Jordan Malikowski (Royalton, Minn. / Royalton) competed in the 3000m steeplechase and finished in the top-15 with a time of 10:17.37.
 
In the field events, Dean Marlin (Sauk Rapids, Minn. / Sauk Rapids) competed in triple jump, finishing in 15^th with a jump of 11.87m. Jacob Homan (North Mankato, Minn. / Mankato Loyola) finished in 17^th in the shot put with a throw of 13.05m.
 
The Saint Mary's women's team had similar success on the second and final day of the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis. / McDonell Central)  just missed an All-Conference finish in the high jump, as she came in fourth place with her jump of 1.63m. The sophomore additionally earned five points towards the team's overall score of 16 points.
 
The women Cardinals also had plenty of success in the relay races, as the 4x100m relay team of Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South), Kynzie Smedsrud (Luverne, Minn. / Luverne), Hannah Crowe (Baraboo, Wis. / Baraboo) and Alica Schurrer (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) came in fourth place with a time of 50.47. Saint Mary's also just missed a top-8 finish in both the 4x400m and 4x800m relays, as the 4x400m team of Schurrer, Smedsrud, Crowe and Klausler came in ninth with a time of 4:10.94. In the 4x800, the team of Molly Sweet (Prescott, Wis. / Prescott), Julia VanWatermeulen (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth), Crowe and Anna Marinc (Carol Stream, Ill. / Glenbard North) had a similar result, as they came in tenth with a time of 10:53.49.
 
Danielle Franke (Mounds View, Minn. / Irondale) recorded a top-15 finish in the 3000m steeplechase, as she came in 12^th behind a time of 12:26.76.
 
Thanks to these and several other strong performances from the opening day of the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the Saint Mary's men's team came in ninth place with 36 team points, while the women finished in 11^th with 16 total team points over the weekend. Host St. Thomas won both the men's and women's championships as a team, as the men tallied 212.50 points and the women 156.50 points over the weekend.
 
The Cardinals will compete at the Last Chance Meet, hosted at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, on Thursday May 16 to boost individual's chances of qualifying for the NCAA Championships.