WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University track and field teams got to strut their stuff in front of their home crowd on Friday — in the biggest meet of the outdoor season.
And the Cardinals — and the rest of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships field — gave the Saint Mary's home crowd plenty to cheer about.
In a day with picture-perfect weather conditions, fans were treated to one conference record fall — when Birgen Nelson of Gustavus shattered the MIAC record in the 100 hurdles with a time of 13.80 — while eight facility records went by the wayside during the first day of the two-day event.
Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) led the way for the Cardinals during Day 1, placing fourth in the pole vault, clearing 4.46 meters. Gatz was one of three SMU vaulters to place in the Top 10 in the pole vault, being joined by Matthew Stack (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), who was sixth (4.31m) and Coleton Strupp (Holmen, Wis.), who placed eighth (4.31m)
In Friday's women's event finals,
Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) was 12th in the hammer (40.16m) to lead the way for the Cardinals, while
Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) placed 13th (4.57m) and
Lilly Maul (Madelia, Minn.) finished 17th (4.40m) in the long jump;
Kendra Klobe (Glencoe, Minn.) delivered a 14th-place showing in the 10,000 (42:41.73), and
Morgan Wallendal (Bloomington, Minn.) chipped in a 16th in the discus (32.25m).
In other men's finals Friday, Dan Cooper (Belle Plaine, Minn.) placed 13th (6.35m) and Antonio Cisewski (Amherst, Wis.) was 17th (6.12m) in the long jump, and Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) recorded a 17th-place throw of 12.62 meters in the shot put.
Other Cardinal female competitors who did not reach the finals in their respective running events included: Klausler (200, 10th, 26.66),
Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis. / 800, 13th, 2:27.58),
Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis. / 200, 13th, 26.81):
Abrianna Utgaard (Star Prairie, Minn. / 400, 14th, 1:02.01), and Maul (100, 17th, 13.27).
On the men's side, Chris Bulwa (Glenview, Ill. / 200, 12th, 22.75), Oliver Adamson (Rochester, Minn. / 400, 13th, 51.14), Isaiah Brindamour (Rollingstone, Minn., 800, 15th, 1:59.86), Dan Cooper (Belle Plaine, Minn. / 100, 16th, 11.39), and Strupp (100, 21st, 11.48) did not qualify for Saturday's running event finals.
Day 2 of the conference championships kicks off at noon with field events in the women's javelin and triple jump, and the men's discus and high jump, while field events begin at 1 p.m. with the men's and women's 3,000 steeplechase.
