By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
LA CROSSE, Wis. — It was billed the UW-La Crosse Last Chance Meet — and the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota track and field teams made the most of that "last chance."
 
Christian Beamer (Two Harbors, Minn.), David Kemper (Woodbury, Minn.), Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis.), and the Cardinal men's 4x100 meter relay team did their best to get on the NCAA Outdoor National Championships invitation list.
 
Beamer broke his own school record in the high jump, clearing 2.06 meters — leaving him among the Top 15 in the country — while Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.), Matt Boone (Mindoro, Wis.),  Noah Anderson (St. Paul, Minn.), and Desmond Steward (Milwaukee, Wis.) shattered their school record, breaking the tape in 41.37 — jumping from the nation's 35th-fastest time into the Top 15.
 
Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis.) equaled her career-best effort in the high jump, winning the event with a leap of 1.68 meters — keeping her in the midst of the chase for an NCAA outdoor championships invitation.
 
Lichttenegger's effort in the 4x100 was the first of two record-setting efforts for the Cardinal junior, who broke the school mark in the 100 with a scorching time of 10.66 — leaving him 21st in the country — while David Kemper (Woodbury, Minn.) delivered a leap of 4.78 meters in the pole vault to inch him into the Top 20.
 
Beamer, Ohde, Kemper, and the Cardinal relay team will officially learn their fate this weekend, when the NCAA announces the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships field. This year's outdoor national championships will take place on May 24-25 at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.