MANKATO- Minn. - The Cardinals Track and Field team continued to improve and thrive in their final regular meet of the indoor season at Minnesota State Mankato before the MIAC Conference Championships.
 
The Cardinals started out strong in the 60m dash, paving the way for the team for the rest of the day. After qualifying for finals in the 60m dash amongst  a field of tough competition, Ryan Cramer finished in sixth place overall with a time of 7.08 seconds. On the women's side, Zari Young outshined all her competitors, finishing well ahead of the rest of the field and taking first place in the 60m, with a time of 7.69 seconds, breaking her own school and personal record!
 
Kendra Klobe, in her first mile of this indoor season, ran 5:43.85, a personal best time that earned her sixth place overall. The men boasted some impressive times as well, with Isaiah Fitzgerald finishing in sixth in a personal best time of 4:36.52, and Grant Schneider right on his heels, finishing eighth in 4:36.93,
 
In the 400m dash, Lola Schwinghamer ran a new PR, finishing the race in seventh place with a time of 1:05.85. Cade Kloss also performed well, finishing strong in his 600m with a new massive personal best time of 1:26.25, earning him fourth in the field of competition.
 
The middle distance runners stole the show today at the Maverick Invite. To start, Megan Frosh nabbed eighth place in the 800m with a season-best time of 2:37.22, and Katherine Goergen wasn't far behind, finishing 10th with a PR of 2:46.82. Zander Olmshenk represented the men in this event, finishing fourth in 2:03.09, a new best time for him as well. Mya Slavin claimed the title in the 1000m race, finishing first in a field of tough competitors in a new massive personal best time of 3:01.92. 
 
Samantha Munson finished in the top for the Cardinal competitors in the 200m dash, claiming sixth place with a time of 26.75 seconds. Melissa Torres (11th) and Rachael Kubichka (13th), both ran season best times, finishing in 27.62 seconds and 27.89 seconds respectively. Oliver Adamson finished fourth in the 200m with a season best time of 22.66 seconds. Brady Johnson (14th), Ben Kritsberg (15th), and Eddie Paton (20th) ran season best times as well, stopping the clock in 23.36s, 23.42s, and 23.74s respectively. Nathan Folkert also managed to run a new PR in this event, finishing in 26.49s.
 
Sean Smyth was the final competitor for the Cardinals on the track, wrapping up the competition in his 3000m race with a personal best time of 9:11.29, crossing the line in place.
 
The team experienced success off the track in the field events as well. Antonio Cisewski finished eighth in the long jump, finishing with a jump of 6.27m. Ameryn Dostal won the triple jump with a leap of 10.06m. Nathan Longfors finished eighth in the triple jump for the men, jumping 11.98m, with Brady Johnson close behind, finishing in ninth in 11.82m. In the high jump Xara Gin finished eighth with a jump of 1.43m tying her personal best.
 
Representing the Cardinals in throws, Sydney Jackman finished eighth in the shot put with a throw of 12.28m. Erica Wright (19th) threw a new season best of 10.77m. In the women's weight through, Anna Becker was the top Cardinal finisher, placing eighth in a large field of competitors with a throw of 15.26m. Savana Johnson and Abigail Kanz both threw new PRs, throwing 11.97 and 10.68m respectively. For the men, Casen Fritz was the ninth finisher in the weight throw, finishing with a toss of 15.49m.
 
Many Cardinals will return next week for their final meet of the indoor season, as they wrap up their indoor season at the MIAC Indoor Conference Championships hosted by Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. 
 
The two-day meet will be held from Friday February 28th through Saturday March 1st.