• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals collected nine Top-10 performances — including third- and fourth-place showings by their 4x400 relay teams — at the Minnesota State-Mankato Maverick Invitational last Friday.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: The Cardinals’ 4x400 men’s relay team collected a third-place finish with a time of 3:39 and the women’s 4x400 relay delivered a fourth-place showing with a time of 4:15.66 to lead the way for the Cardinals at the Minnesota State-Mankato Maverick Invitational. Individually, Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) and Carolyn Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinals, as Curran placed fourth in the weight throw, while Gearin was fifth in the 400.
• OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES: Along with Curran’s fourth-place toss of 16.91 meters, the SMU men also got Top 10 performances from Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.), Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.), Frankie Bakalars (La Crosse, Wis.), and Coleton Strupp (Holmen, Wis.) at last Friday’s Maverick Invitational. Gatz finished seventh in the pole vault (4.38m), Jackson placed eighth in 400 (51.64), Bakalars chipped in a ninth in the weight throw (15.85m), Strupp posted a 10th in the pole vault (4.38m). … On the women’s side, Gearin broke the tape in 1:01.40 to place fifth in the 400, and added an 11th-place effort in the pole vault, clearing 3.20 meters.
• MEET OF THE HEARTS: The Cardinals delivered 14 Top 5 performances at the 14-team Carleton Meet of the Hearts in Northfield, Minn. on Feb. 12. Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) picked up her second first-place showing in two trips to Northfield, Minn., at the Meet of the Hearts, winning the shot put with a toss of 12.12 meters, while also adding a second in the weight throw (14.23m). On the men’s side, Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) owned the SMU men’s lone first-place finish, winning the pole vault by clearing 4.42, while Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) posted a second-place double-double, taking the No. 2 spot in both the weight throw (16.02m) and the shot put (13.24m).
• WINTER CLASSIC: Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) had a very busy afternoon for the Cardinal women — who had nine Top 5 showings at the UW-River Falls Winter Classic on Feb. 5 — as the senior won the 60 in a time of 8.29, while added four-place efforts in both the 200 (27.74) and the long jump (4.99 meters). Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.), meanwhile, accounted for two of the SMU men’s 12 Top 5 performances, stopping the clock in 23.12 to win the 200, while adding a 51.86 for a fourth-place showing in the 400.
• ST. OLAF QUAD: The Cardinals picked up first-place efforts from both Kubes and Jackson and added six other Top 2 performances at the non-team-scored St. Olaf Quadrangular on Jan. 28. Kubes collected one of the teams’ two first-place finishes with a toss of 14.21 meters to win the women’s weight throw, while Jackson stopped the clock in 52.70 to win the men’s 400.
• TWIN PORTS OPEN: The Cardinals recorded 17 Top 5 finishes at the UW-Superior Twin Ports Open on — including first-place showings by Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.), Klausler, and Steinbrecher. Gearin cleared 3.19 meters in capturing the individual title in the pole vault at last Saturday’s Twin Ports Open, while Klausler delivered a 5.05-meter leap in winning the long jump, and Steinbrecher recorded a time of 9:45:09 to win the 3000.
• ALL-AMERICAN: Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis.) earned her first collegiate All-American honor at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships on May 27, placing second in the javelin. Swanson’s school-record toss of 46.65 meters was the top spot in the championships until the very last throw of the competition.
• NCAA QUALIFIERS: The men’s 4x100 relay team of Kyle Lichttenegger, Noah Anderson, Matt Boone, and Garrett Jackson placed 10th at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships on May 27, clocking a time of 41.49.
• MIAC CHAMPS: Saint Mary’s boasted five MIAC Outdoor individual champions in 2021 — Lichttenegger in the long jump, Swanson in the javelin, Caroline Gearin in the pole vault, Rachel Ohde in the high jump, and Sydney Klausler in the long jump. … The men’s 4x100 relay team of Lichttenegger, Anderson, Boone, and Jackson were also crowned outdoor conference champions.
• ALL REGION: Twelve Cardinals were named USTFCCCA All-Region — awarded to individuals with times/marks among the Top 5 in the region and relay teams in the Top 3. Lichttenegger led the way for the Cardinals, earning All-Region honors in the 100, long jump and 4 x 100 relay, where he was joined by Boone, Anderson, and Jackson. … On the women’s side, Swanson, Klausler, Gearin, Rachel Ohde, and Bailey Joens were all-region recipients.
