WINONA, Minn. — There wasn't much quantity, but there was plenty of quality as the Saint Mary's University nordic ski teams finally got their seasons off the ground last Saturday and Sunday at the Ely Invitational.

After Mother Nature forced the postponement of SMU's season-opening home invitational because of lack of snow, the Cardinals finally got a meet under their belts, taking part in a triangular against Gustavus and Macalester in Ely, Minn.

"I thought we skied well, especially considering it was our first race," said SMU coach John Skemp. "With the lack of snow we've had in Winona, it was nice to actually get out and compete on snow and get that first meet of the season under our belt."

Garrick Holey (Mounds View, Minn.) placed fifth in the 15-kilometer freestyle event (45:11) and added a sixth-place showing in the 10K classical (38:03) to lead the SMU men's team to lead the Cardinals to a second-place effort in the two-day event. Ben Hanson (Hastings, Minn.) took 12th in the 15K freestyle (57:55) and 10th in the 10K classical (47:03) for the Cardinals.

On the women's side, Rachael Lundell (Golden Valley, Minn.) was the lone skier for the SMU women's team, which placed third in the three-team event. Lundell finished 10th in the 5K classical race (23:11) and 13th in the 10K freestyle (44:07).

"It was a nice start for everyone," Skemp said. "Hopefully we can improve on our times this weekend (at the NCAA qualifier in Marquette, Mich.)."