<men’s track team competed in its last regular season meet last Friday at St. Olaf. The team’s Distance Medley Relay started the meet off with the combo of Laura Roach ’10, Clare Franco ’12, Kaitlin Randolph ’12, and Simone Childs-Walker ’12 setting a new school record in the event. They ran a blistering 12:02.79 that ranks them as the 10th fastest team in the country.
Many quick races were held that day, as Claire Karban ’13 demonstrated in her first stab at the 600m dash. Moving at an even faster pace, Lily Vanderstaay ’12 and Kyle Walter ’11 ran their fastest 200m of the season. Amy Elson ’10 had another outstanding performance, 3-stepping the hurdles for the first time this season. Other impressive performances from that meet occurred in the 400m dash. Brooke Granowski ’13 revamped her warm-up routine and promptly shaved half a second off her time. Kelsey Donald ’10 brought her time down to 63.38, exactly what she needed to qualify for the conference championships.
Speaking of the conference championships, they began yesterday with Elson representing Carleton in the pentathlon. More excitement is planned for today, as the national level distances are contested. Carleton looks to be quite strong, with Childs-Walker racing the 5k, Roach running the mile, Randolph competing in the 800 and Franco sprinting the 400. Nikki Reich ’10 will be eyeing some points in the 5k, as will Granowski in the quarter-mile. Haley Johnson ’13 will be fun to watch in the 800 and Kelsey Donald ’10 hopes to build on last week’s excellent 400 in tonight’s race. Off the track, Walter will be a strong competitor in the high jump.
Tomorrow will be equally exciting, with Childs-Walker in the 3k, Roach and Randolph in the 1000, and Franco in the 600 and 200 meter races. Johnson will also be competing in the 600, enjoying the opportunity to race this unique event. Before she takes off in that event though, a number of Carls will be racing the 3k, including Reich, Sameena Ahmed ’12, and Shannon Mueller ’12. It should be quite the race. Having recovered from Thursday’s pentathlon, Elson will take on the triple jump, bounding far across the pit.
As you’re reading this, I know you’re thinking “Man, I wish I could see those amazingly strong women compete…” Well, as a matter of fact, you can! We, Carleton College, are hosting the 2010 MIAC Indoor Track Championships at the Rec Center. The action begins tonight at 2:00 PM with the pentathlon and continues with the other events at 5:00 PM
-Alison Smyth is a member of the Women’s track team