WINONA, Minn. — The field for the UW-Eau Claire Invitational Saturday was one of the strongest the Saint Mary's University track and field teams would face all season.

The Cardinals' toughest opponent, however, didn't have a school affiliation — in fact, she didn't even compete in a single event.

Saturday afternoon, SMU's toughest opponent was Mother Nature.

"The weather conditions were unbelievable — it was next to impossible," said SMU coach Kirk Nauman, noting that the 45-degree temperatures were the least of the Cardinals' problems — the constant downpour, on the other hand, made things unbearable. "It started raining at noon, and it never let up the whole day. It was tough on everyone."

Beth Cleveland (Cold Spring, Minn.) and Rob Friendt (Ogden, Utah) made the most of the less than ideal conditions setting school records in both the hammer throw and 400, respectively. Cleveland broke her own mark in the hammer, finishing with a toss of 40.52 meters, while Friendt broke the tape in 50.50 set break the school's five-year-old 400 mark.

Maria Roche (New Prague, Minn.) picked up SMU's lone first-place finish, winning the 800 in 2:23.34, while Ellen Koranda (Blue Earth, Minn.) turned in a solid time in the 1,500, placing third in 4:46.02. Amanda Weinmann (Rochester, Minn. / shot put, 12.09), Jenny Folgers (McHenry, Ill. / 100 hurdles, 15.73) chipped in fifth-place efforts, while Cleveland (shot put, 11.53 meters), Emily Bartusek (Albert Lea, Minn. / 400, 59.23) and Kate Boisjolie (Austin, Minn. / 3000 steeplechase, 12:43.74) chipped in sixth-place efforts.

"Everyone really had to fight through the elements, that was their No. 1 challenge," said Nauman. "And I think, all things considered, they responded quite well."