LA CROSSE, Wis. — Saint Mary's University track and field coach Darren Schneider knew his teams were in for a stiff test in their indoor-season opener Saturday at the UW-La Crosse Invitational.
 
And the Cardinals more than held their own.
 
Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) and Emily Kern (Buffalo, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinal women, with Kubes collecting a sixth and seventh-place performance and Kern adding a sixth-place effort, while Aiden Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) fueled the Cardinal men's charge with a ninth-place showing.
 
Kubes delivered a mark of 11.14 meters to place sixth in the shot put, and added a seventh in the weight throw with a toss of 13.3 meters. Kern, meanwhile, stopped the clock in 11:09.69 to place sixth in the 3,000.
 
Morgan Wallendal (Fond du Lac, Wis.) chipped in 10th-place performance in the weight throw (12.65m), and Megan Frosch (Oconomowoc, Wis.) raced to a 10th in the 800 (2:44.42). Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.), Anna Becker (Cannon Falls, Minn.), and Samantha Munson (Plain City, Utah) added Top 15 showings in the 400 (1:03.90), weight throw (11.88m), and (8.85), respectively.
 
Gatz — the defending MIAC indoor pole vault champion — kicked off his season with a ninth-place showing Saturday, clearing 3.88 meters, while Casen Fritz (Minnesota City, Minn.) chipped in a 10th in the weight throw (12.86m) and a 12th in the shot put (9.65m).
 
In the running events, Chris Bulwa (Glenview, Ill.) led the SMU men, stopping the clock in 51.66 to place ninth in the 400, with Benjamin Kritsberg (Rosemount, Minn.), Cade Kloss (Apple Valley, Minn.), and Granton Schneider (Moorhead, Minn.) adding 10th-place times in the 60 (7.32), 800 (2:20.46), and 3,000 (9:08.68), respectively. Kritsberg also posted a 12th in the 200 (24.38) and Gabe Bickerstaff (Rollingstone, Minn.) tallied a 12th in the 3,000 (9:55.24, while Brady Johnson (Elburn, Ill.) chipped in a 14th in the 400 (54.47).