ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Saint Mary's University track and field teams certainly made an impression in their first-ever appearance at the Washington (Mo.) Invitational — returning home boasting a pair of individual champions and seven top 5 performances
 
Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) — fresh from winning the MIAC Indoor Championships title in the pole vault — kicked off the outdoor season in much the same fashion, winning Saturday's event by clearing 4.35 meters. Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) picked up SMU's other first-place showing, uncorking a toss of 12.07 meters to win the shot put.
 
The Cardinal men's 4x100 relay team of Antonio Cisewski (Amherst, Minn.), Oliver Adamson (Rochester, Minn.), Dan Cooper (Belle Plaine, Minn.), Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.) placed second with a time of 43.73, while Matthew Stack (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) added a fourth in the pole vault (4.05m) and Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) chipped in a fifth in the discus (38.78m).
 
Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) chipped in a second-place performance for the Cardinal women, posting a leap of 5.43 meters in the long jump. Other top 10 showings for SMU women included: Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis. / ninth in 400, 1:05.42), Morgan Wallendal (Fond du Lac, Wis. / ninth in the 400, 1:05.42), Klausler (10th in 200, 278.03), Lilly Maul (Madelia, Minn. / 10th in the long jump, 4.60m), and Emmarie Byom (La Crescent, Minn. / 10th in the pole vault, 2.70m).
 
The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday, heading to La Crosse, Wis., to take part in UW-La Crosse's Ashton May Invitational.