CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Three weeks, three meets, three different states.
 
And a third straight outstanding afternoon for the Saint Mary's University track and field teams.
 
Threes were most certainly wild for the Cardinals, who made a lasting impression in their first-ever appearance at the Rittgers Invitational — collecting three first-place finishes and 18 Top 5 performances.
 
Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis.) and Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) led the charge for the Cardinal women, while Frankie Bakalars (La Crosse, Wis.) was the top men's performer, as the trio picked up first-place efforts.
 
Swanson — who has dominated the javelin during the early stages of the outdoor season — showed her versatility Friday, winning the 800 with a time of 2:26.21, while Gearin delivered a first-place mark of 3.10 meters in winning the pole vault.
 
Bakalars, meanwhile, led a 1-2 showing in the hammer throw for the Cardinal men, outdistancing teammate Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.).
 
The first-place effort in the pole vault was just the tip of the iceberg for Gearin, who also posted a second-place showing in the 400 (1:01.98) and teamed with Lilly Maul (Madelia, Minn.), Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.), and Nathalie Freire (Bloomington, Minn.) to place second in the 4x100 with a time of 51.33.
 
The second-place showing in the 4x100 was the first of three second-place efforts for Klausler, who also added a second in the long jump (5.18m) and in the 100 (12.99). Kendra Klobe (Glencoe, Minn.) also delivered a second-place performance, with a time of 20:35.41 in the 5,000, while also placing fourth in the 1,500 (5:26.76).
 
Amanda Tuvey (West St. Paul, Minn.) clocked a third-place time of 12:59.53 in the steeplechase, and Abrianna Utgaard (Star Prairie, Wis.) chipped in a fifth in the 400, stopping the clock in 1:03.17.
 
On the men's side, Matthew Stack (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) joined Curran with a second-place performance in the pole vault, while Charlie Frenzel (Northfield, Minn.) was third in the triple jump (12.49m), and Andrew Martin (Shell Lake, Wis.) added a pair of fifth-place showings in the high jump (1.65m) and javelin (36.51m) and Brady Johnson (Elburn, Wis.) chipped in a leap of 11.76m in the triple jump.
 
The Cardinals' 4x100 relay team of Coleton Strupp (Holmen, Wis.), Oliver Adamson (Rochester, Minn.), Antonio Cisewski (Amherst, Wis.), and Dan Cooper (Belle Plaine, Minn.) stopped the clock in 44.35 to finish fourth.
 
The Cardinals are right back in action next Friday and Saturday, making a second trip to La Crosse, Wis., to take part in the Phil Esten Challenge, hosted by UW-La Crosse.