<e blazing, rain was falling, and races—unfortunately—were not starting on time at last Friday’s meet against the University of St. Thomas. As Aaron Hirsh ‘13 described it, “Rotblatt looks like clockwork compared to this fiasco.”
From the beginning, the officials had difficulty with the starting system, which is usually connected to the starting gun. However, the connection wasn’t working, leaving many Carleton athletes standing in the cold before their races. Oliver Heywood ‘13 and the seven other Knights in the 800 meter race had to wait at least thirty minutes before they could begin their two-minute race. “It was worse than the line at the LDC after 3a,” said Oliver. Luckily, the cold wait did not stop Heywood from leading a tight knit pack consisting of teammates Adam Scherling ‘13, Evan “Famous” Johnson ‘12, Bill Grimm ‘15 and Phil Juda ‘13, who all finished one behind another.
In the fast events, freshmen sprinter Garo Anguiano-Sainz had a career day. His blistering time of 23.17 seconds in the 200 meters earned him 5th place in the meet. Anguiano-Sainz also had the highest finish for a Division III runner, an impressive accomplishment, as the Knights were competing against St. Thomas, St. Olaf, Hamline, St. John’s, Division II Minnesota State-Mankato, and Division I University of Minnesota.
Anguiano-Sainz also clocked 17.28 seconds, good enough for 9th place, in the 110 meter hurdles, while teammates CJ Dale ‘13 and Adrian “WB” Carpenter ‘14 finished 8th and 6th. Dale had a particularly impressive day, recording personal bests in the high jump, shot put, discus, and 110m hurdles. He also placed fourth in the triple jump, with a distance of 42 feet, 4’ inches—the fifth-best distance in the MIAC this season.
James Morissey ’12 also made himself known in the grueling 400 meters with an impressive time of 51.53 seconds. He then went on to deliver an equally impressive (though less sweaty) comps presentation on Monday night. In the longer events, Marcus Huderle ’14 was the top Division III racer in the 5,000 meter run, cutting 45 seconds off of his personal record with a time of 15:08.93. Dylan Cheever ’13 also placed fourth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, dropping 25 seconds from his previous PR to finish in 10:27.36.
The strongest men on the team had the good sense to avoid St. Thomas altogether, as throwing coach Leon Lunder led his crew to Gustavus on Saturday. Ben Langfeldt ’12 led the charge, throwing over 39 meters in both the hammer throw and the discus. His classmate Robert Wakeley ’12 then bested 45.77 meters in the javelin throw. In other words, if Robert were standing on top of the chapel tower he could run you through with a javelin as you cross the Bald Spot. The two were joined by many rookies, including Alex Polk ‘15, Brendan Fowl ‘14, Stephen Kuenstner ‘15, Christian Hansen ‘15, Andrew Campbell ‘14, and Adan Nunez Frausto ‘14. The team as a whole threw 59.56 kilograms 516.24 meters, roughly the equivalent of throwing Bobby Davis ‘13 from Burton to the LDC.
The Knights will be competing this Saturday at the Stadium in the Carleton Relays. Events begin at 10 a.m. and go until the late afternoon, so come down and cheer for your favorite athletes.