<ndering what happened to the women’s track team when no article was published on them last week? It so happens that it snowed the Friday before last and the women’s competition at St. Olaf was canceled. Sad, but it made the women that much more excited for the Capitol City Championship last Thursday.
As you have no doubt heard, one of the most impressive performances of the meet was that of Simone Childs-Walker ’12. She ran really fast all by herself (if you don’t count the people she lapped), notching a time of 17:10.02, the best mark in D-III so far this season. The performance also earned her MIAC Athlete of the Week honors.
Also in the 5000 meter run, Taylor ffitch ’12 turned in an impressive performance. She may have been converted to a new race structure, much to the delight of her coach.
The rainy weather, while great for the 5k, was not so great for the pole vault, so it was held inside. Megan Erlandson ’12 competed well enough for sixth, and then ventured outside for the 100m dash, bettering her seed time.
Also in a short event, Maggie Sullivan ’14 ran a solid 200m race. Sullivan decided not to take a trip to the cafeteria, but the Kellys did. Lovett ’11 took third in the shot and Soderstrom ’11 turned in a solid performance to go with her PR in the hammer. Lovett also decided to win the javelin while she was at it.
While those two were throwing, Sami Kemper ’14 competed in the 400m hurdles, a race that requires a lot of athletic qualities. Kemper placed 10th.
In other news, a fair number of excellent half-mile performances were turned in. Sarah Trautman ’13 led the Knights, taking eighth in 2:25.36. She was closely, but not actually, followed by Alison Smyth ’12, who finished three one-hundredths slower than Trautman. Alex Dunn ’11 ran another impressive 800, dropping an additional two seconds off her time. Carrie Harshbarger ’13 made it in time following a lovely geo lab and turned in a solid performance, as did Milana Socha ’14, enjoying being on the line with Smyth for the first time since the fall. Laura Newcombe ’14 dropped a second off her best time, poising to drop under the three-minute mark next time.
The Knights also ran well in the 1500m. Emily Fritz-Endres ’11 had excellent structure to shave nearly six seconds off her seed time. Rachael Klehm ’13 demonstrated consistency, running the same time she did the last time she was at Hamline. Socha ran five seconds faster than her last 1500 and Sameena Ahmed ’12 said it felt like she actually raced, pacing herself intelligently.
Some of these women were back at Hamline on Wednesday, some went down to Drake University in Iowa, and some are going to Saint Mary’s University tomorrow. All the athletes are working to put in some top performances. It’s getting to that time of the season and the Conference Championships start next week with the heptathlon.
Alison Smyth is a member of the women’s track team.