WINONA, Minn. — It's been more than a month since the Saint Mary's University track and field teams competed at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships — but you would never have known it by watching the Cardinals last Saturday afternoon.

About the only difference was the fact that the Cardinals had to compete in the 40 degree temperatures, rather than just drive in them.

SMU picked up right where it left off Saturday in their outdoor season opener, as the Cardinals picked up six first-place finishes and added six more second-place efforts at the Red Hawk Open at Ripon College.

"This was a nice way to start the outdoor season," said SMU coach Kirk Nauman. "It was in the 30s when we arrived on (Ripon's) campus, but it actually turned to be a pretty good day for a meet."

Jenny Folgers (McHenry, Ill.), a national outdoor qualifier a year ago who nursed a hamstring injury throughout the indoor season, opened her outdoor campaign with a first in the 100 hurdles, clocking a time of 15.79. Rob Friendt (Ogden, Utah) made it an SMU sweep of the hurdles, winning the men's 110 in 16.09, while Jon Pace (Minoqua, Wis.) added a first in the javelin (39.73 meters) and Amanda Weinmann (Rochester, Minn.) was first in the shot put (11.95 meters). The Cardinals' other two firsts came in the 4x100 relays, where the women clocked a winning time of 52.07, and the men broke the tape in 44.34.

Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.), fresh off an NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships appearance, cleared the bar at 1.56 meters to place second in the high jump, while Beth Cleveland (Wausau, Wis.) added seconds in both the shot put (11.57 meters) and the hammer throw (39.43 meters). Emily Bartusek (Albert Lea, Minn.; 400 / 1:00.34), Brooke Zachman (Coon Rapids, Minn.; 400 hurdles / 15.97), and Ellen Koranda (Blue Earth, Minn.; 5,000 / 19:07.44) also chipped in second-place showings for the Cardinals.

"This was a pretty low-key meet, which was perfect for what we wanted to accomplish," said Nauman. "It was nice to compete outside and see where we are at. Obviously, there is a lot of work to do, but after what I saw (Saturday), my expectations remain high for these teams."