<rleton College women’s track team outdid itself yet again at the Ole Open. Another slew of school records fell on Friday night in what has become a weekly occurrence in the team’s remarkable season. This was the sixth consecutive meet at which the Knights broke at least two school records.
Head coach Donna Ricks put it simply. “This team is on fire,” she said.
She wasn’t boasting. The Knights set a new school record in the distance medley relay with a time among the best in the nation. Shot-putter Kao Sutton ‘14 broke the school record two more times. And sophomore Amelia Campbell continued to rack up new bests in her historical season, laying claim to her seventh school record of the year.
“I am truly blessed to coach this team,” Ricks said. “I am so proud of how this team trains and pulls together to support one another.”
Carleton’s runners started with one of the few records they hadn’t broken yet this season: the distance medley relay. Campbell, along with Ruth Steinke ‘16, Ellie Wilson ‘15, and Colette Celichowski ‘15 ran it in 11:59.21 – good enough for a school record, tops in the MIAC, and second-best in Division III this season.
Amazingly, Campbell kept her record-breaking streak alive. For the sixth consecutive competition, she eclipsed at least one school record. This time it was the 60-meter dash thanks to a time of 8.04.
Later in the night, she tied for first in the high jump with a distance of 1.60 meters.
The record-breaking didn’t stay on the track. Sutton, who broke the shot put record a total of four times over the Knights’ previous two meets, broke it a fifth time on Friday. Then she broke it a sixth time. Her distance of 13.59 meters was not only good for a victory, it moved her up on the Division III season bests.
There were plenty of successes to go around, even for those who weren’t breaking records. Zoe Peterson ‘17 took second in the triple jump with a combined distance of 10.56 meters. Steinke, running in her first 800 meters of the season, completed it in 2:19.70, which was good enough for third place.
First-year Emma Grisanzio set a personal record in the 200 meters, with a fourth-place finish at 27.19. Classmates Winona Rachel and Prombie Silverman also ran personal bests in the 1000 meters, with times of 3:08 and 3:15 respectively.
Other personal records set included Aurora Janes ‘15 3000-meter run, Katie Richards ‘15 in the pole vault, and four runners in the mile.
The Ole Open was the last meet of the Knights’ remarkable regular season. Next weekend, they will travel to Collegeville to compete in the three-day MIAC championships co-hosted by College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.