<ok to Como Park in St. Paul last Saturday and emerged third at the 2010 MIAC Championships. Their foes from across the river, the Oles, won the meet with 53 points. The battle for second through fifth was tight, with St. Thomas taking second in 89 points and Carleton following in 92. Gustavus had 93 and Bethel 95. If you ever need a reminder of how every point counts, just look at the MIAC women’s cross-country meet. It’s always this crazy.
Superstar Simone Childs-Walker ‘12 led the Knights, collecting her third All-MIAC honors by placing third in the race, behind Ole winner Maren Westby and her teammate Emma Lee. The Knights’ second finisher was Alison Smyth ’12. Her racing style, involving multiple sudden surges, frustrated Taylor Ffitch ’12, Carleton’s third placer. Carleton’s fourth and fifth runners of the day, Milana Socha ’14 and Rachael Klehm ’13 made all the difference in the scoring. The two worked together to have outstanding races and build a significant amount of momentum going into the regional championships.
The ever-dependable Kaitlin Randolph ’12 was the Knights’ sixth finisher, dropping her course PR by 20 seconds. Less than a second behind Randolph was Aly Wisekal ’14 in an amazing race. She dropped 20 seconds from her all-time PR and the team forgave her for deserting her workout group. Rachel Kittaka ’12 proved her dependability and consistency by running a solid race despite not having run all week. Carrie Harshbarger ’13 also fell into the category of Knights with amazing races. She had a personal-best time and beat a number of people she had not beaten yet. The large workout group was next, led by Brooke McManigal ’14. She escaped the 800m speed of Haley Johnson ’13 in the finish. Adrienne Bruder ’14 and Julie Besenbruch ’14 came in next with very solid performances.
Sarah Trautman ’13 continued the stellar improvement she has been making all season, dropping 15 seconds from her best time, recorded on a course much faster than that at Como. Lauren Chow ’14 was next for the Knights, learning exactly what all the hullabaloo of the week was for. Maddie Halloran ’14 turned in a solid performance as well, as did Claire Wilson ’14.
All in all, conference was the team effort it always is and a fantastic last race for the team of 2010. Half the team participated in Karhu last night, with its extravagant costumes and fierce competition with the Oles. The rest of the squad will compete in Waverly, Iowa next Saturday in the NCAA Central Regional Championships for a chance to run at the national competition.
-Alison Smyth is a member of the women’s cross country team.