ST. PAUL, Minn. — Saint Mary's University track and field coach Jake Malm could not have scripted a better start to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships for his Cardinals.
 
After all, through the first two field events on Friday afternoon, the Cardinals boasted a pair of conference champions.
 
And the Cardinals' successes just kept rolling in.
 
In fact, by the time the opening day was over, Saint Mary's had racked up four individual conference champions, and the Cardinal women's team found itself sitting in first place, one point in front of St. Thomas, while the SMU men are holding down the No. 8 spot.
 
Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis.), who entered Friday's opening day of the two-day outdoor champions owning the conference's top performance in the javelin, maintained her spot in the MIAC catbird seat, uncorking a toss of 40.45 meters to easily win the event.
 
Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) was untouchable in the long jump — an event he has dominated over the past two years — delivering a season-best leap of 6.90 meters to earn the outdoor title.
 
And that wasn't all for Lichttenegger, as the senior posted the top time in the 100 prelims, stopping the clock in 10.87 to earn a spot in Saturday's final. Teammate Matt Boone (Mindoro, Wis.) will also be toeing the line in the 100 final after a third-place time of 11.11 in Friday's prelim.
 
Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) and Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) added Saint Mary's third and fourth conference crowns, winning the pole vault and long jump, respectively — and the Cardinals had seven reach Saturday's finals in the running events during Day 1 of the two-day competition at Hamline University.
 
Gearin, competing in her first outdoor conference championships, blew away the rest of the field to win the pole vault, clearing 3.53 meters. Gearin also earned a spot in Saturday's finals in the 400, stopping the clock in 59.20 to place second in the Friday's prelims. Mirijana Ganley (Nisswa, Minn.) will also be competing in the 400 on Saturday, after clocking the seventh-fastest time of 1:00.98.
 
Klausler, meanwhile, claimed her first long jump title en route to SMU's fourth conference crown of the day, posting a jump of 5.21 meters. The junior also earned a spot in Saturday's 200 final after posting a time of 27.15 — the fifth fastest time in the event.
 
Noah Anderson (St. Paul, Minn.) and Boone put themselves in the top 8 in the 200 to earn a spot in Saturday's final, as Anderson recorded a time of 22.51 to finish fifth in the prelims, while Boone was eighth with a time of 22.69.
 
In other men's finals on Friday, Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) posted a third-place toss of 52.92 meters in the hammer throw, with teammate Frankie Bakalars (La Crosse, Wis.) adding a throw of 48.93m in the event to place eighth. Jon Meaden (Rosemount, Minn.) recorded a 14^th-place time of 4:03.37 in the 1,500 and added a time of 2:01.98 to place 22nd in the 800, while Isaiah Brindamour (Hinckley, Minn.) was 21st in the event, breaking the tape in 2:01.85.
 
On the women's side, along with her conference-championship effort in the javelin, Swanson posted the day's 12th-best time in the 400 (1:02.86) and added a 14th-place effort in the 800 (2:25.25). Nathalie Freire (Bloomington, Minn.) placed 15th in the pole vault with a mark of 2.83 meters, and Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) finished 12^th in shot put with a throw of 11.38 meters.
 
The MIAC Championships conclude on Saturday with Day 2 of the two-day event. Events kick off at 1 p.m. at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.