WINONA, Minn. — With the end of the school year fast approaching, most spring sports are heading down the homestretch.

For the Saint Mary's University track and field teams, however, the season is just heating up.

The Cardinals kicked off a stretch of six meets over the next 16 days last Wednesday, as the SMU men's team took part in the Macalester Invitational.

Todd Yankowski (Chicago, Ill.) led the way for the Cardinals, placing seventh in the javelin (48.87 meters) and 16th in the long jump (5.84 meters), while also running the third leg of the second-place 4 x 400 relay team.

Joining Yankowski on that relay were Dan Hertzner (Ottawa, Ill.), B.J. Klenke (Jordan, Minn.) and Jim Baertsch (Winona, Minn.). Hertzner also added a 27th-place showing in the 200 (23.52), while Klenke was 19th in the 1,500 (4:22.07). Eric Habberstad (Blooming Prairie, Minn.) was 12th in the 110 hurdles (17.44) and 15th in the shot put (10.08 meters), and Andy Boisjoile (Austin, Minn.) was 17th in the 800 (2:10.03).

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Two weeks ago, at the Kansas Relays, Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) notched an NCAA Division III National Championships provisional-qualifying mark in the heptathlon.

Last Saturday, the SMU sophomore didn't have the opportunity to compete in the pentathlon — since the Gustavus Invitational didn't field the event — but Dingels did get to compete in a number of heptathlon events.

And compete she did.

Dingels posted a pair of first-place finishes — including a school-record and NCAA provisional-qualifying leap of 5-4 in the high jump — to lead the way for the Cardinals at the event.

"Ashley had a great meet, as did a number of our other athletes," said SMU coach Paul Thornton. "We are beginning to peak at the right time, and with a couple of meets remaining before the conference championships, everything seems to be falling into place."

Along with her first-place effort in the high jump, Dingels also won the 400 (59.51), while placing second in the shot put (39-5 1/4), fifth in the 100 hurdles (16.30) and fifth in the javelin (106-4).

Megan Mason (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in a school-record effort in the pole vault, clearing 10-4 to place seventh, while Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) capped a busy day with seconds in the long jump (16-4 1/2) and javelin (115-7), a third in the shot put (38-1), and a seventh in the discus (118-0). Jenny Folgers (McHenry, Ill.) was third in the 100 hurdles (15.43) and fifth in the 400 hurdles (69.26), with Autumn Valk (Appleton, Wis.) taking 4th in the 100 hurdles (16.27) and third in the 400 hurdles (67.64). Ellen Koranda (Blue Earth, Minn.) and Theresa Miller (New Berlin, Wis.) also had strong showings, as Koranda placed fourth in the 800 (2:24.90) and Miller was fifth in the 1,500 (5:12.45).

On the men's side, Yankowski was fourth in the javelin (154-9) and ninth in the long jump (19-8 1/4), while Klenke was fifth in the 800 (2:01.52), Boisjolie was eighth in the 1,500 (4:29.81) and Habberstad was 12th in the 100 hurdles (17.01).

"This meet and the (Macalester Invitational last Tuesday) were good meets for us," said Thornton. "And this week will be more of the same — with the MIAC Combined, along with the Tommie Twilight and the Meet of the Saints, we should continue to make improvements as we gear up for the MIAC Championships."