By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
GENEVA, Ohio — It was a sophomore season to remember for Saint Mary's University's
Christian Beamer (Two Harbors, Minn.) and Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis.).
And the Cardinal high jumpers capped the year off in style Friday at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships at SPIRE Institute.
Beamer sailed through the first two heights in the men's high jump, before his run came to a screeching halt — settling for a tie for 10th in the 20-man field — while Ohde placed tied for 16th among the 22 competitors in the women's event.
"For their first time at the national meet, I was very happy with the way they performed — they did not let the magnitude of moment affect them," said Saint Mary's coach
Niels Anderson. "I'm very excited for what both Christian and Rachel accomplished this season, and what the future holds for the program over the next two years."
Beamer had little trouble with the first two heights, clearing both 1.93 meters and 1.98 meters in his first attempts, only to come up empty in three tries at 2.03 meters.
"I'm so glad to be here — it's been a ton of fun and I'm honored to be competing at this level," said Beamer. "I'm a little disappointed — it wasn't my best day jumping — but it's still an incredible honor. This experience only drives me to go home over the summer and train as hard as I can to come back to this national stage and do even better next year."
Like Beamer, Ohde easily cleared her opening height of 1.56 meters, and successfully completed 1.61 meters on her second attempt, but missed on all three efforts at 1.64 meters.
"It was a really good experience competing here at nationals," Ohde said. "I was a little nervous, and I tried to take It bar-by-bar, but the nerves got to me a little.
"This was such a great experience, and I look forward to building on it next season."
The Cardinals' NCAA Championships come to a close on Saturday, when
David Kemper (Woodbury, Minn.) competes in the pole vault. Action begins at noon EST.
