LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University track and field teams enjoyed a banner home invitational last weekend, collecting six first-place finishes among their 29 top-five efforts.
 
And the Cardinals didn't miss a beat when they returned to the track on Saturday at the UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Challenge.
 
Participating in one of the largest meets they'll compete in all season, the Cardinals put together 13 Top 15 performances — including a second-place effort by Chris Bulwa and a fifth-place showing by Isabella Schei — at the UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Challenge Saturday afternoon.
 
Bulwa, who has proven to be one of the top men's performers in the 200, continued his torrid outdoor season, clocking a time of 21.68 to place second, right behind UW-La Crosse's Luke Schroeder, who won the event in 21.56.
 
Eddie Paton and Ron White chipped in fifth-place finishes — Paton with a time of 51.71 in the 400 and White with a mark of 36.40 meters in the discus —‚while Oliver Adamson (seventh, 100, 11.14), Dan Cooper, 11th in triple jump, 11.92m), and Connor Manley (11th, 400 hurdles, 1:04.94) also finished in the Top 15 for the SMU men.
 
On the women's side, Schei uncorked a throw of 33.56 meters to place fifth in the javelin, while Samantha Kubes was 10th in the hammer (45.16m). Caeli McMahon (10th, 5,000, 20:01.06), Morgan Wallendal (13th, hammer, 42.28m), Sydney Jackman (14th, shot put, 11.27m), Kubes (15th, shot put, 10.96m), and Anna Becker (15th, hammer, 41.83m) also delivered Top 15 performances.
 
The Cardinals are back on the road next Saturday, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., to take part in the Macalester Rider/Bolstorff Invitational.