ST. PAUL, Minn. — Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) set the tone for the Saint Mary's University track and field teams Friday at the opening day of the two-day Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
 
And Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.) took the baton — make that pole vault pole — and ran with it on Saturday.
 
Gatz posted the Cardinals' top Day 2 performance, clearing 4.37 meters to place fourth in the men's pole vault — earning the sophomore honorable-mention All-MIAC honors.
 
The Cardinal men also got eighth-place performances from Brady Johnson (Elburn, Ill.), Granton Schneider (Moorhead, Minn.), Chris Bulwa (Glenview, Ill.), as well as the 4x200 relay team. Johnson posted a mark of 12.74 meters to place eighth in the triple jump, while Schneider was eighth in the 1,000 (2:34.79) and Bulwa placed eighth in the 200 (22.69).
 
Johnson then teamed with Ben Kritsberg (Rosemount, Minn.), Garret Jackson (West Linn, Ore.), and Oliver Adamson (Rochester, Minn.) to deliver an eighth-place time of 1:33.68 in the 4x200 relay. The 4x400 relay team of Bulwa, Johnson, Jackson and Adamson also delivered a time of 3:34.79 to place 10th.
 
On the women's side, Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) delivered a seventh-place throw of 11.77 meters in the shot put, while teammates Morgan Wallendal (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Sydney Jackman (Litchfield, Minn.) finished close behind with eighth- and ninth-place marks of 11.31m and 11.07m, respectively.
 
The Cardinals are now off until March 31-April 1, when they travel to St. Louis, Mo., to take part in the Washington University Distance Carnival and Invitational.