<t a glorious day it was! As I looked down upon the track from the parking lot of Leighton, my heart soared to see the thinclads competing at home again. It had been far too long since Carleton had hosted an outdoor track meet.
There were many spectacular opening performances, including Haley Johnson’s ’13 second place finish in the 800-meter run. Clare Franco ’12 was right behind in third, and Claire Karbon turned in a strong performance, coming close to 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
Another great race was had by Sarah Trautman ’13 in the 1500-meter, who obediently did not take the lead despite the slow start pace and ended up finishing second, taking seven seconds off her personal record.
Kaitlin Randolph ’12 also dropped time in the event, getting under the five-minute mark. Lindsay Turchan ’15 also ran pretty fast, running a sub 5:40 equivalent, for those who are accustomed to mile times.
Ellie Wilson ’15 continued to be the team’s short sprint star, running a time that puts her at fifth in the the 200-meter now. In the longest event of the day, the Knights demonstrated their depth, taking spots 3-6 with Alison Smyth ’12, Taylor ffitch ’12, Colette Celichowski ’15 (yes, she can handle the longer distance), and Rachael Klehm ’13 (yes, she’s back).
Other exciting news included the return of the best throwing events, the javelin and discus. Avery Johnson ’15 placed third in the spear toss and is now ranked tenth in the conference. Kao Sutton ’14 took fifth in the discus and is ranked seventh in the conference. Jessa Youso ’13 also returned to the ring.
The team hopes to continue to build this weekend at Gustavus and River Falls. It will be another opportunity for the Knights to try out new events and compete during this short outdoor season.