<nnual Rolex Classic was held on Wednesday as the Carleton College men’s track and field team hosted crosstown rival St. Olaf College for a dual meet at Laird Stadium. The Knights won 10 events on the day, but ultimately the one that mattered most was the 200-meter dash victory by Xander Swafford (Fy./Portland, Ore./Wilson).
As a tradition, at the end of the day, the teams pick a random event. Whichever school won that event, wins the meet. This year’s selection was the 200-meter dash, an event in which the Knights took both first and second place. Swafford turned in a winning time of 23.57 followed by Luke Westawker (Fy./St. Paul, Minn./Nova Classical Academy), who finished in 24.23.
Carleton started the afternoon with a victory in the 4×100-meter relay by the all-rookie quartet of Swafford, Ben Schwartz (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East), Austin Baxter (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar), and Bryan Richter (Des Moines, Iowa/Abraham Lincoln). They combined on a winning time of 42.87.
Donson Cook-Gallardo (Jr./Moscow, Idaho) took first in the 1500-meter run in convincing fashion, winning the event by 25 seconds. His winning time of 3:48.82 broke the school record and is third-best in NCAA Division III this season.
Richter, Schwartz, and Bolu Johnson (Jr./Chicago, Ill./University of Chicago Lab School) went 1-2-3 in the 400-meter dash, finishing in times of 49.77, 50.49, and 52.02 seconds, respectively. Schwartz went on to also claim victory in the long jump with a top distance of 6.28 meters.
Justin Washington (Fy./Chicago, Ill./Northside College Prep) took top honors in the 400-meter hurdles, recording a time of 57.42.
In the 800-meter run, senior Ben Withbroe (Takoma Park, Md./Albert Einstein) crossed the finish line 0.09 seconds ahead of a St. Olaf competitor to take first place (1:54.47). Joey Cook-Gallardo (Fy./Moscow, Idaho) and Camden Sikes (Jr./Berkeley, Calif./Berkeley) earned third and fourth with times of 1:56.51 and 1:57.08, respectively.
Notching a victory in the discus was Sam Diaz de Leon (Jr./Yuma, Ariz./Gila Ridge), who achieved a top distance of 41.78 meters.
Christian Zaytoun (So./Raleigh, N.C./Woodberry Forest) took home top honors in the javelin throw (50.10 meters).
Junior Maurice Hicks (Upper Marlboro, Md./Maret) earned first place in the triple jump (13.25 meters).