< winning the 55-meter dash, taking second in the 200 meters and posting two personal best times at the St. Olaf Invitational Friday night, Nick Cesarek ’09 was named MIAC track athlete of the week Monday.
Running 6.72 seconds in the 55-meter preliminary heat to qualify second for the final, Cesarek came back and ran 6.67 for the win. Then, he took just 23.22 seconds to complete the one-lap race later in the evening, prompting the boisterous crowd to chant “Hail, Cesar!”
Cesarek now sits in the top six on the conference honor roll in both events.
Multi-eventer Jameson Siegert ’11 was busy as usual at St. Olaf. He first ran the 55-meter hurdles, and then took second in the high jump, clearing the mystical 6-foot barrier with a jump of 1.84 meters. He then returned to the track for his favorite event of them all, the 1000 meter run.
Last week’s MIAC track athlete of the week Charlie Gamble ’10 also competed in the 1000 meters, taking second place in a personal-best 2:35.00. Tom Brenner ’09 was fourth in 2:43.94.
Carleton’s hurdlers shined once again, with Dylan Bothun ’11 and Kyle Burkhardt ’10 taking fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles. Bothun dashed to an 8.61 while Burkhardt ran a PR-shattering 8.75.
In the 3000 meters, Colin Sinclair ’11 used his devastating finishing kick to save a stellar 9:23.43 clocking for sixth place after allowing the pace to slip in the middle laps. Kian Flynn ’12 was seventh in 9:31.20.
Both Knights set personal records in the event, which was practically a guarantee since neither had run the 3000 before.
The “Welcome to life at Carleton” story of the night involved two-time All-American Tom Ballinger. He delivered his physics comps talk on the synthesis of sound at 3:30, then hurried to the track to warm up for the 600-yard dash, an event he won at the MIAC Championships last year while setting a school record.
Ballinger finished a disappointing second (only first is not disappointing for Ballinger), running 1:18.28. However, now that his comps talk is done, Ballinger will add sleep to his training regimen, which should only increase his already-ridiculous fitness.
This weekend, the Knights will leave their spikes in their lockers, opting instead to officiate the women’s track and field meet tonight at the Rec Center. The meet begins at 5:30 and is sure to provide excellent entertainment.
The men will be back in action next Saturday at the Meet of the Hearts, also at the Rec Center. This is the only men’s home meet this year, and is a great place to take your date on Valentine’s Day.