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SMU at Blugold Invite Friday, Jan. 20 |
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Cardinals make a big splash at UW-Eau Claire Invitational
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Saint Mary's University track and field coach Kirk Nauman approached Friday's UW-Eau Claire Invitational as a chance for several of his athletes to get their feet wet.
And the Cardinals certainly made a big splash.
Amanda Weinmann (Rochester, Minn.) and Ember Anderson (Blackduck, Minn.) went 2-3 in the shot put, while Megan Mason (Rochester, Minn.), Autumn Valk (Appleton, Wis.) and Beth Cleveland (Wausau, Wis.) chipped in third-place efforts in leading the Cardinals to a fourth-place showing.
Ryan Oldsberg (Jordan, Minn.), Chris Fisette (Elmhust, Ill.) and Joe Holman (Suamico, Wis.) fueled the SMU men's fourth-place effort, placing fourth in the high jump, fifth in the triple jump and 55 hurdles, respectively.
"We got a number of great performances," said Nauman, noting that Valk's time of 8.86 in the 55 hurdles was a personal-best for this time of year, while Weimnann's performance in the shot and Mason's efforts in the high jump and pole vault put a smile on his face. "I thought our throwers did a very nice job — if they can continue to improve the way they have thus far, they are going to be turning a lot of heads this season."
Weinmann finished with a toss of 12.47 meters earned her a second in the shot, while Anderson was close behind in 11.86 meters for third. Mason cleared 1.57 meters in placing third in the high jump, and added a fifth-place jump of 2.96 meters in the pole vault, while Valk stopped the clock in 8.86 to place third in the 55 hurdles and Cleveland added a third-place toss of 14.55 meters in the weight throw.
Oldsberg cleared 1.77 meters to place fourth in the high jump, while Fisette jumped 5.90 meters in the long jump and Holman ran a 9.15 in the 55 hurdles.
"This was a good first meet for a lot of our athletes," said Nauman. "We needed a meet like this just so some people could get their feet wet. I was pleased with what I saw."