Due to less than ideal weather conditions, the University of Minnesota Duluth was forced to go inside for its 2008 outdoor track and field season in Collegeville, Minn. But that didn't dampeN the Bulldogs' spirits -- or individual performances -- as the women captured first place while the men's finished second behind host St. John's University.

The Bulldog women captured a multitude of first-place finishes. Leading the way was junior captain Kristen Haak, who won the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.69. Other event champions included junior captain Liz Palkie in the 1,500-meter run (4:53.69), junior Greta Stangl in the 5,000-meter run (18:14.29), junior Traci Pottinger in the long jump (17’5’.25”), senior Julie Johnston in the pole vault (10’2”) and the 4X400-meter relay team (4:05.01). In addition, UMD also received strong showings from from junior Alyssa Wendt (a personal-best time of 4:58.38 to place sixth in the 1,500 meter run) and freshman Rachel Stack (fourth place in the 5,000-meter run at 19:27.19).

The UMD men were led by the likes of by sophomore Jimmy Warmuth, who was the only double winner of the day, taking the the 55-meter hurdles (8.19) and the triple jump (a personal best with a mark of 43’6.50”) titles. In a stacked 1,500-meter run field, UMD took three of the top five places. Senior captain Jared Clementson finished third with a career-best indoor time time of 4:05.42 and was followed by sophomore Tyler Bjorhus (4:07.13) and Mike Finnerty (a personal best 4:09.04). Other top efforts included junior Eric Atkinson's taking first in the 5,000-meter run (15:33.46) and the 4 X 400-meter relay team claiming the top spot.

The Bulldogs will be back in action next week at the Central College Invitational in Pella, Iowa. Events are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.