By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University swim teams kicked off the UW-Stevens Point Invitational in stellar fashion Friday, qualifying five swimmers for the evening finals.
 
Brennen McClay (Shakopee, Minn.) clocked a time of 50.52 to earn the 13th seed in the 100 freestyle, while Griffin Rades (Shawano, Wis.) reached the finals in both the 100 backstroke and 200 IM, posting qualifying times of 1:02.55 (14th) and 2:16.43 (19th), respectively.
 
On the women's side, Brooke Shefchik (Stevens Point, Wis.) and Erica Camarato (DeForest, Wis.) each delivered qualifying times in the 200 breaststroke  — Shefchik notching a time 2:49.22 (21st), while Camarato stopped the clock in 2:57.08 (24th).
 
In Friday evening's finals, Rades opened things up by posting a time of 2:17.08 to place 20th in the 200 IM, while adding a 15th in the 100 backstroke, stopping the clock in 1:03.31. McClay chipped in a time of 50.81 in the 100 freestyle, while Shefchik placed 17th (2:46.06) and Camarato finished 24th in the 200 breaststroke.
 
During Friday's morning finals, Shefchik led a trio of Cardinal finishers in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:48.25 to finish 19th, followed by Katie Beitz (Blaine, Minn.) with a 23rd-place time of 6:04.89 and Claire King (Red Wing, Minn.) with a 24th-place effort of 6:13.73.
 
Shefchik, Beitz, King and Ashlyn Seifert (Austin, Texas) also delivered a time of 9:13.93 for an eighth-place showing in the 800 freestyle relay, while the women's 200 freestyle relay team of Beitz, Shefchik, Becerra, and Seifert posted a 1:56.65 to place 20th. Shefchik, King, Camarato, and Seifert also posted a 20th-place time of 4:47.46 in the 400 medley relay.
 
The Cardinals are right back in action on Saturday, returning to the UW-SP Aquatic Center for the second day of the two-day UW-Stevens Point Invitational.