< Center played host to its first track meet of the indoor season last Friday as the women’s track and field team took on St. Ben’s, some Oles, and a Tommie. It was quite a success, as Carleton won six events and many individuals improved their performance marks from the previous meet.
The meet started off with the high jump and the mile. Kyla Walter ’11 would win the high jump, equaling her best height from last season. Nikki Reich ’10 and Julie Besenbruch ’13 performed spectacularly in the mile. Reich demonstrated some leg speed she didn’t know she had, reducing her previous mile best to 5:28. It was Besenbruch’s first time competing on the track for Carleton and she had quite a good time working on reeling in Shannon Mueller ’12.
Then we had some sprinting events, in which the team continued to reap the benefits of early morning Thursday workouts through the performances of Clare Franco ’12, Haley Johnson ’13, and Brooke Granowski ’13. Franco would break her own school record in the 400m, running an impressive 58.23, ranking her 7th in the country in that event. She would later return to the track and use a spectacular finish to win the 200m by 0.03 seconds.
Johnson and Granowski took on a slightly longer event, running the first 600s (meters, not yards) of their careers. Johnson took the early lead with Granowski right behind and the two merely lengthened their leads over their three laps.
Also moving up in distance was Kaitlin Randolph ’12 as she took on the 1k for the first time this season. She demonstrated the importance of consistent training by promptly shaving 12 seconds off her previous best to run 3:04, currently the 5th fastest time in the conference. She would not win the race though, as teammate Laura Roach ’10 decided to go ahead and run over a second faster than she ever has at that distance.
Not satisfied with either the 600 or 1k, Amy Elson ’10 decided to go in between and run the 800m. She would run the fastest indoor 800 of her career before heading over to the shot and improving her indoor best in that event.
The highlight of the meet, though, may have been the spectacular performance of the men’s team. Professional dress, professional behavior, excellent commentary, what more can you ask for? This week, however, the men will be unable to run the women’s meet as both teams are competing at the Meet of the Hearts, also at the Rec Center. The action kicks off tonight with several heats of the 5k, as well as a pentathlon occurring, as a number of individuals strive to earn national meet qualifying times. Expect some exciting races. The competition continues tomorrow with all the usual events, beginning at 11:15 AM.