WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University track and field teams made the most of their opportunity to compete in front of their home fans last weekend at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships.
 
And when the dust finally settled on the two-day event, the Cardinals left with plenty of MIAC honors — boasting two conference champions, four First-Team All-MIAC performers, and three honorable-mention All-MIAC honorees.
 
Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis.) and Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) highlighted Saint Mary's award-winners, claiming MIAC titles in the javelin and hammer, respectively — while earning All-MIAC honors in the process. Swanson captured her second straight javelin title with a throw of 41.10 meters, while Curran collected his first collegiate conference crown with a mark of 54.83 meters in the hammer.
 
Frankie Bakalars (La Crosse, Wis.) and Nathalie Freire (Bloomington, Minn.) closed out their collegiate careers in memorable fashion, earning All-MIAC honors with third-place efforts in the hammer and pole vault, respectively, while Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill. / fourth) and Matthew Stack (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / sixth) both collected honorable-mention All-MIAC accolades in the pole vault.
 
The Saint Mary's women's 4x400 relay team of Swanson, Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.), Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) and Abrianna Utgaard (Star Prairie, Wis.)  rounded out the Cardinals' conference award-winners, claiming honorable-mention honors with its fourth-place finish.
 
Along with All-MIAC and honorable-mention All-MIAC award-winners, the conference office also announced their top post-season honors on Thursday.
 
Saint John's Maguire Petersen was named MIAC Men's Outstanding Track Athlete and Bethel's Joel Smith was tabbed the MIAC Men's Outstanding Field Athlete, while Saint John's Jeremy Karger-Gatzow picked up Men's Coach of the Year honors.
 
On the women's side, Gustavus swept all three conference honors — Birgen Nelson was named Outstanding Track Athlete, Annika Poe earned Outstanding Field Athlete, and Aaron Lund was named Coach of the Year.
 
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for track and field, which included Saint Mary's Freire and Coleton Strupp (Holmen, Wis.). Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.