< final tune-up before next weekend’s MIAC Championship, the men’s cross country team finished second at Saturday’s Running of the Cows, a small, three-team home meet contested in Upper Arb.
The Knights amassed 39 points; Cornell College, coached by Carleton alum Dan Schofer ’00, won with 22, and Winona State finished third with 69.
Charlie Gamble ’10 led Cornell’s Andrew Tobben for much of the race, but could not hold on to the junior at the end, falling to second place in 26:21. Tobben surged in the final two kilometers to stop the clock at 25:49.
John Davis ’11 ran a somewhat disappointing 27:10 for 5th, finishing within 11 seconds of two Cornell sophomores. Younger brother Bobby Davis ’13 was the third Knight across in 11th, running 27:33.
Chris Marshall ’10, Dylan Cheever ’13 and Colin Sinclair ’11 came in 11th, 12th and 13th respectively, finishing within 1.4 seconds of each other.
The devastating kick of Sinclair was not enough to hold off the furious finish of Cheever, who sped past Sinclair in the final 200 meters, nearly catching Marshall. This was Cheever’s strongest race of the season.
The Knights showcased their great depth, as Blake Hansen ’10 and Kian Flynn ’12 each clocked 28:03, with Ben Parks ’11, Matt Harrison ’13, Michael Sanders ’10 and Jon Kittaka ’13 all cracking 29 minutes.
Perhaps the most impressive race of the day came from Harrison, whose 28:48 clocking represents a 34 second improvement from his previous race, which was run on a faster course.
Harrison’s father Ralph was the meet’s best spectator. Ralph Harrison seemed to be everywhere on the course, offering the Knights words of encouragement.
Parks, affectionately known as “Mr. Party,” ran another excellent race, and continues to chop time off his personal best despite running on some very challenging cross country courses.
Hansen made his season debut, and out leaned Flynn by a mere two tenths of a second.
While the front seven did not run poorly, the result was disappointing. The Fellahs defeated Cornell the week before at the Wartburg Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly, Iowa, moving into the regional rankings for the first time this season.
While the Wartburg margin was a mere two points, falling by 17 points was something the Knights hoped not to do.
The tough home loss leaves the Knights focused as they move ahead to the championship season. Next Saturday, they will race the MIAC Championships at Como Park in St. Paul.
After Conference, the team will split up, with the top seven resting for the NCAA Central Region Championships in Grinnell, Iowa November 13 and the rest of the team facing a quick 5-day turnaround before racing a dual meet at St. Olaf next Thursday.