• EYEING A REPEAT: Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis.) enters the 2022 outdoor season on the heels of earning 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.
• LITTLE FISH: Swanson kicked off her 2022 outdoor season in impressive fashion, placing 11th at the Texas Relays, hosted by the University of Texas on March 24 in Austin, Texas. The only NCAA Division III competitor, Swanson uncorked a toss of 42.99 meters en route to her 11th-place showing.
• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals have been off since Feb. 25-26, when they competed in the indoor season-ending MIAC Championships — with both teams posting ninth-place finishes.
• MIAC INDOOR LEADERS: Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) cleared 4.53 meters to win the indoor conference title in the pole vault — in his first-ever MIAC appearance — to lead four All-MIAC performers at the indoor season-ending event. Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) posted a second-place leap of 5.34 meters in the long jump, while Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) delivered a third-place toss of 16.92 meters in the weight throw and Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) posted a third-place, 3.32-meter effort in the pole vault to join Gatz and Klausler as First-Team All-MIAC performers.
• MAVERICK INVITATIONAL: SMU collected nine Top-10 performances — including third- and fourth-place showings by their 4x400 relay teams — at the Minnesota State-Mankato Maverick Invitational on Feb. 18. 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, Curran and Gearin led the way for the Cardinals, as Curran placed fourth in the weight throw, while Gearin was fifth in the 400.
• 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. Kubes 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, Gatz owned the SMU men’s lone first-place finish, winning the pole vault by clearing 4.42, while Curran 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: Klausler 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 Jan. 22 — including first-place showings by Gearin, Klausler, and Quinn Steinbrecher (Holmen, Wis.). 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.
• 2021 MIAC CHAMPS: Saint Mary’s boasted five MIAC Outdoor individual champions in 2021 — Kyle Lichttenegger in the long jump, Swanson in the javelin, Gearin in the pole vault, Rachel Ohde in the high jump, and Klausler in the long jump. … The men’s 4x100 relay team of Lichttenegger, Noah Anderson, Matt Boone, and Jackson were also crowned outdoor conference champions.
