• LAST TIME OUT: Led by the efforts of Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.), Frankie Bakalars (La Crosse, Wis.), and Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.), the Cardinals put together 21 Top 10 performances Wednesday evening during the non-team-scored event at the University of St. Thomas.
• TOMMIE TWILIGHT: Gearin picked up a third-place showing in the pole vault (3.35 meters) and a fourth in the 400 (1:01.86), while Bakalars and Curran chipped in fifth-place efforts — Bakalars in the hammer throw (50.87 meters) and Curran in the discus (40.69m) — while Curran also delivered an eighth in the hammer (44.48m) to lead SMU’s 21 Top-10 effort at the midweek event | Recap
• DRAKE RELAYS: Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis.) delivered a throw of 38.73 meters to place 13th in the javelin at the Drake Relays last Friday. Swanson’s effort was the second-best among NCAA Division III competitors behind St. Catherine’s Bryanna Leverentz, who was 10thwith a throw of 39.78 meters | Recap
• PHIL ESTEN CHALLENGE: As a team, the Cardinals compiled six Top 10 performances — including a first-place effort by Swanson in the javelin — at the UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Challenge in La Crosse, Wis., on April 23. Swanson won javelin with a toss of 41.39 meters. Gearin cleared 3.53 meters to finish tied for fourth in the pole vault, while Curran delivered a throw of 52.68 meters in placing fourth in the hammer | Recap
• RITTGERS INVITATIONAL: Swanson won 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 and Bakalars took first in the hammer throw with a toss of 47.77 | Recap
• ASHTON MAY INVITE: Swanson was unstoppable, winning the javelin with a toss of 41.84 meters, while Curran and Bakalars made their presence felt in the men’s hammer throw, with Curran placing third (53.95 meters) and Bakalars adding a fifth (51.97m). The women’s 4x100 relay team of Gearin, Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.), Lilly Maul (Madelia, Minn.) and Madison Weis (Annandale, Minn.) added SMU’s other Top 5 effort with a third-place time of 51.74 | Recap
• SITTING NO. 5: Swanson’s throw of 42.99 meters in the javelin at the Texas Relays on March 24 is the fifth-best mark in NCAA Division III. Pacific Lutheran’s Ava Nelson owns the nation’s top mark at 45.79 meters, followed by George Fox’s Chrissy Strickland (45.04m), Ursinus’s Isabelle Deal (44.15m), and Erynn Daubenmire of Westminster (44.00m).
• WASH U. INVITE: Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) — fresh from winning the MIAC Indoor Championships title in the pole vault — opened the outdoor season in much the same fashion, clearing 4.35 meters to win the event. 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 | Recap
• LITTLE FISH, BIG POND: Swanson — an NCAA All-American in the javelin in 2021 — 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.
• MIAC INDOOR LEADERS: Gatz 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. Klausler posted a second-place leap of 5.34 meters in the long jump, while Curran delivered a third-place toss of 16.92 meters in the weight throw and Gearin posted a third-place, 3.32-meter effort in the pole vault to join Gatz and Klausler as First-Team All-MIAC performers | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
• 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 | Recap
• 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) | Recap
• 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 | Recap
• 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 | Recap
• 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 | Recap
