By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's and women's track and field teams officially kick off their 2020 indoor season on Saturday, hosting the Saint Mary's Early Birdinal at the Gostomski Fieldhouse.
 
The Saint Mary's Early Birdinal Field:
• Saint Mary's, Viterbo, Winona State
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• Saturday's Saint Mary's Early Birdinal is the 2020 indoor season opener for the Cardinals.
 
Cardinals At Saint Mary's Early Birdinal — A Year Ago:
• January 12, 2019 * Gostomski Fieldhouse * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals combined for 11 first-place finishes — including a pair of first-place showings by Desmond Steward (Bayside, Wis.) — in the non-team-scored home-opener | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals are back on the track next Saturday, as Saint Mary's travels to Menomonie, Wis., to take part in the UW-Stout Open.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2020 Men's Roster | 2020 Women's Roster | 2020 Schedule | Record Book
• The Saint Mary's men finished with 20 top-five all-time performances in 2019 — including 9 school records — with the women adding 10 top-five all-time performances in 2019. … The Cardinals boasted a school-record seven NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championship qualifiers in 2019 — high jumpers Christian Beamer (Two Harbors, Minn.) and Rachel Ohde (Chetek, Wis.), pole vaulter David Kemper (Woodbury, Minn.) and the men's 4x100 relay team of Matt Boone (Mindoro, Wis.), Desmond Steward (Milwaukee, Wis.), Noah Anderson (St. Paul, Minn.), and Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.). … Kemper — making his second NCAA outdoor championships appearance, placed 16th, while Beamer was 10th and Ohde was 16th. … Beamer and the Cardinal men's 4x100 relay each broke school records at the UW-La Crosse Last Chance Meet on May 16 to earn their NCAA berths. Beamer cleared 2.06 meters in the high jump, breaking his own record of 2.02 meters set at the Saint Mary's Open on April 25. The 4x100 squad, meanwhile, rewrote their own school mark with a time of 41.37. … Lichttenegger also set a school record at the Last Chance meet on May 16, clocking a time of 10.66 in the 100. … 
The Cardinals collected four All-MIAC performances at the regular season-ending MIAC Outdoor Championships — including three from Lichttenegger. Lichttenegger finished second in the 200 (22.00) and third in the long jump (6.99 meters), while Boone, Anderson, and Steward to finish second in the 4x100 relay (41.94). … Lichttenegger's 6.99-meter leap in the long jump at the conference championships was a new school record. … Ohde led the way for the Cardinal women at the MIAC Outdoor Championships on May 11-12, placing fourth in the high jump with a leap of 1.63 meters. … Cardinal jumpers collected five Top 5 finishes at the mid-week U of M and Tommie Twilights on May 1. On the men's side, Beamer led the way, winning the high jump with a leap of 1.97 meters at the U of M Twilight, while Lichttenegger added a third-place showing in the long jump with a leap of 6.33 meters and Steward was fourth in the triple jump, posting a mark of 13.27. On the women's side, Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) leapt her way to third in the long jump with a mark of 4.99 meters, and Ohde cleared 1.56 meters to place fourth in the high jump at the UST Tommie Twilight. … The Cardinals posted 24 Top-10 performances at the Saint Mary's Open on April 25. … The Cardinals kicked off the outdoor season in style, recording 12 Top-10 finishes at the Ashton May Invitational on April 6. … The Cardinals posted four Top 3, All-MIAC performances at the indoor season-ending MIAC Championships. Ohde cleared 1.65 meters on her first attempt en route to an All-MIAC second-place finish in the high jump, while Steward claimed back-to-back third-place showings in the long jump (6.69m) and triple jump (14.07m), and Kemper closed out his final indoor conference championships with a mark of 4.32m to finish third in the pole vault. … Ohde placed first or second in all seven high jump competitions she was entered in during the 2019 indoor season. … Beamer shattered the Cardinal school record in the indoor high jump at the MIAC Championships, clearing 1.96 meters in winning the event as part of the men's heptathlon. Beamer's mark easily broke the old record of 1.91m, set during the 2005 indoor season. … Lichttenegger shattered the school record in the indoor 200 — clocking a time of 22.60 — at the MIAC Championships. … Kemper broke the 14-year-old school record in the indoor pole vault — clearing 4.61 meters — at the St. Thomas Showcase on Feb. 8. The Cardinals garnered six first-place finishes — and one meet record — at the Luther Alumni Meet on Feb. 2. Ohde led the way for the Cardinals, winning the women's high jump with a meet-record 1.62-meter leap. … The Cardinals boasted 10 first-place finishes at the indoor season-opening Early Birdinal.