ST. PAUL, Minn. — With several conference schools taking part, Friday's Hamline Invitational served as a bit of a conference championships preview for the Saint Mary's University track and field teams.
 
And the Cardinals are hoping Friday's performances are a sign of good things to come heading into next weekend's MIAC Outdoor Championships.
 
Saint Mary's picked up first-place finishes from Amanda Tuvey (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) and posted 14 Top 10 finishes in their final MIAC Outdoor Championships tune-up at the Hamline Invitational.
 
Tuvey posted a time of 12:38.88 in winning the women's steeplechase, while Gatz cleared 5.45 meters to easily bring home first-place honors in the men's pole vault.
 
Samantha Kubes (New Prague) chipped in a pair of Top 10 efforts, placing third in hammer (44.36m) and sixth in the shot put (10.69m), while Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) added a seventh in pole vault (2.98m), Morgan Wallendal (Fond du Lac, Wis.) placed seventh in the discus (34.05m), and Anna Becker (Cannon Falls, Minn.) and Nathalie Freire (Bloomington, Minn.) tallied 10th-place showings in the javelin (22.64m) and pole vault (2.98m), respectively.
 
Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) had a busy evening for the SMU men, placing second in the hammer (53.28), fifth in the discus (40.00m), and sixth in the shot put (12.56m). Frankie Bakalars (La Crosse, Wis.) posted a fifth in the hammer (48.75) and Brady Johnson (Elburn, Ill.), added a fifth in the triple jump (12.29m), while the men's 4x400 relay team posted a second-place time of 3:27.56 to finish second.
 
The Cardinals are now off until next Friday and Saturday, when they return home to the Saint Mary's Track & Field Complex, as they host the MIAC Outdoor Championships.