<st Thursday, women’s track and field hosted the Carleton Quadrangular, competing against St. Olaf, St. Thomas, and St. Catherine. Despite their saint-less status, the Knights had the power of enthusiasm on their side, lining the track to cheer on their teammates more spiritedly than any other team.
Did you think junior Laura Roach’s niche was biology? Cross country? Quiet concentration? So did we. Turns out, the co-captain entered monster mode to transform into a beast during the 3000m steeple chase, where she conquered the cold water pit, flew easily over almost every barrier (stepping on only a few), finished over 30 seconds before her closest competitor in the MIAC, and her winning time of 11:16 is a infinitesimal three seconds away from the NCAA provisional qualifying mark. This is the second time Roach has ever run this event. You can stop banging your head against the wall for missing the meet last Thursday because you’ll get to watch her do it again, but even faster and with even louder cheering at the MIAC Championships on the Carleton track.
Jill Merkle and Clare Franco, a pair of blonde freshmen with positive attitudes and consistently strong performances, gave the traditionally dominant St. Thomas upperclassmen a real scare, as Merkle took second place in the 100m hurdles, just 0.1 seconds behind Tommie Melissa Kuebler, and Franco shadowed the legendary Katie Thiesen to grab second in the 400m hurdles. Now that they’ve given fair warning, Merkle and Franco will soon take over the sprint scene.
Senior co-captain Pepsi Margoles vaulted seamlessly and powerfully to match her best height of 9 feet, 1 inch, and freshman Talia Goldenberg’s first race in several years was a roaring success as she nabbed 10th place in the 800m. The Knights race at St. Olaf tomorrow. Roach isn’t running the steeple, but if you bike by you can at least cheer her on in the 1500m. At the very least, wish Simone Childs-Walker ’12 good luck in her first ever 10,000m race.
Knights race at St. Olaf tomorrow. Roach isn’t running the steeple, but if you bike by you can at least cheer her on in the 1500m. At the very least, wish Simone Childs-Walker ’12 good luck in her first ever 10,000m race.