<turday, the men’s cross country team put its collective fitness to an extremely difficult test, facing not only a talented group of MIAC foes but also a challenging course at Como Park in St. Paul.
A young Knights team delivered a number of stellar performances, finishing 7th with 156 total points. Charlie Gamble ’10 finished 9th overall, conquering Como’s hills and recording a fantastic time of 25:44. In 2007, on exactly the same course, only two runners notched times faster than Gamble’s 2008 effort.
Gamble received the first all-conference citation of his career, and donned a red beret when he accepted his award, making him easily the best-looking all-MIAC performer. Meeks Brucker ’09 was mentioned honorably for his 25th-place finish.
Despite an inconvenient viral illness that prevented him from running for much of the week, John Davis ’11 ran an extremely gutsy race, crossing the line in 26:43 for 29th. Though both his place and his time were terrible compared to the standard he set by finishing 8th and 4th in his last two contests, recent reports indicate that his friends and family still love him.
Taking home the award for the bestbeard in the meet was Blake Hansen ’10. The junior put his country first by wearing an American flag bandana for the race.
Carleton’s own “Fantastic Four” crossed the line next, with Tom Brenner ’09 leading the Knights in scoring, followed closely by Chris Marshall ’10, Colin Sinclair ’11 and Pete Samuels ’09. Only 15 seconds separated the foursome.
Meet officials found a hammer lying on the ground about 400 meters from the finish line. Sinclair had dropped it on his way to the closing straightaway, using his now-patented surge to close the gap between him and roommate Marshall over the last 400 meters of the race. The pair finished just three tenths of a second apart.
St. Olaf sophomore Doboul Ruon won the individual title in 25:01, four seconds ahead of Macalester senior Martin Mudry. Ruon led his Oles to the team championship with 75 points. Hamline finished second with 87, and St. Thomas accumulated 93 points for third place. Bethel, St. John’s and Gustavus also snuck under the Knights.