<rleton College women’s track and field team made the most of its lone home meet of the 2015 season as the Knights broke three school records while hosting the Carleton Relays.
Colette Celichowski (Sr./Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and Damali Britton (Fy./Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista) eclipsed their own program standards in the 1500-meter run and triple jump, respectively. The day was capped with a record-setting performance in the 4×400-meter relay by Reilly Simon (Jr./Grapevine, Texas/Grapevine), Emma Russ (Jr./Inver Grove, Minn./Simley), Emma Grisanzio (So./Carol Stream, Ill./Wheaton North), and Ellie Wilson (Sr./Roseville, Minn./Roseville).
“I’m very proud of this team,” said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks. “They did a great job coming together. One of my goals today was to break the school record in the 4×400, and I thought ‘Wow, we are ready to do this.’ They looked fabulous.”
The 4×400 finished in 3:54.74, shaving more than two seconds off the previous record established at the 2014 MIAC Championships. The result was not much of a surprise, however. Earlier in the day, Wilson and Simon finished 1-2 in the 400-meter dash at 57.85 and 58.46, respectively. Russ added a second-place showing in the 400-meter hurdles at 64.47, moving her into fifth all-time at Carleton, while Grisanzio had solid showings in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Celichowski clocked her 1500 meters in 4:34.80, working alongside Ruth Steinke (Jr./Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima). Celichowski went out and grabbed the lead, then got a push from Steinke on the third lap before each established a new personal best. Steinke’s time of 4:36.08 jumped her from ninth to second in team history.
Britton won the triple jump competition by nearly a meter, posting a mark of 11.50 meters (37’ 8.75”), moving her into the top 20 in the country. She bettered her previous school record—set at last week’s meet—by 0.10 meters. Zoe Peterson (So./Bellingham, Wash./Squalicum) was second today with her distance of 10.60 meters in the prelims.
Carleton’s other top-two finish also came in the field events as Amelia Campbell (Jr./Sturgeon Bay, Wis./Sturgeon Bay) cleared 1.63 meters (5’ 4.25”) in the high jump.
Carleton is slated to participate at three meets next week: the Hamline Twilight on Wednesday, April 22 as well as the Drake Relays and the Macalester Invitational on Saturday, April 25. Following this the Knights will prepare for the MIAC finals.