NORTHFIELD, Minn. — After seeing some of the best the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had to offer at last weekend's indoor season-opening UW-La Crosse Invitational, the Saint Mary's University track and field teams got their first look at foes from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Saturday.
 
And the Cardinals appeared to stack up just fine.
 
Saint Mary's posted three first-place finishes and added 20 other top 10 performances at the St. Olaf Invitational Saturday.
 
Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) and Emily Kern (Buffalo, Minn.) delivered first-place performances for the SMU women, while Ben Kritsberg (Rosemount, Minn.), Antonio Cisewski (Custer, Wis.), Chris Bulwa (Glenview, Ill.), and Oliver Adamson (Rochester, Minn.) crossed the finish line in 1:35.04 to place second in the 4x200 to pace the SMU men.
 
Kubes uncorked a toss of 14.21 meters to win the weight throw, and added a third-place toss of 12.97 meters in the shot put, while Kern crossed the tape with a winning time of 18:55.48 in the 5,000. The men's 4x200, meanwhile, posted a time of 1:33.34 to take home first-place honors.
 
Other top 10 showings on the women's side included a second-place effort by Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) in the pole vault (2.90m) and a sixth-place showing by Morgan Wallendal (Fond du Lac, Wis.) in the weight throw (13.06m). Anna Becker (Cannon Falls, Minn. / weight throw, 13.06m), Sydney Jackman (Litchfield, Minn. / shot put, 11.37m), and Amanda Tuvey (West St. Paul, Minn. / 3,000, 12:42.74) delivered seventh-place performances, with Megan Frosch (Oconomowoc, Wis.) placing eighth in the mile (6:11.14) and Wallendal adding a 10th in the shot put (10.40m). The SMU 4x400 relay team of Samantha Munson (Plain City, Utah), Caeli McMahon (), Frosch, and Abbie Meyer (Sauk Centre, Minn.) chipped in a sixth with a time of 4:46.07.
 
On the men's side, Aiden Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) notched a third in the pole vault (3.95m) and Brady Johnson (Elburn, Ill.) finished fourth in the triple jump (12.02m). Bulwa and Cisewski each finished sixth in the long jump (5.96m), with Dan Cooper (Belle Plaine, Minn.) adding an eighth in the event), while Granton Schneider (Moorhead, Minn.) placed seventh in the mile (4:31.82), and Kritsberg (60, 7.39) and Casen Fritz (Minnesota City, Minn. / shot put, 8.72m) adding eighth-place efforts. Fritz also added a ninth in the weight throw (12.54m) and Isaiah Brindamour (Hinckley, Minn.) chipped in a 10th in the 400 (54.37).
 
The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday, heading to Decorah, Iowa, to take part in the Luther Invitational.