<st Thursday the Oles came to this side of the river for the Great Karhu Shoe race. This is a cutthroat competition between the Carls and the Oles for a pair of Karhu shoes. After last year’s swine flu debacle, the Carls ended up with a shoe and the Oles had a shoe. Fearful for the life of the shoe, the Carls hid it and it is still hidden. Nevertheless, the Oles generously came to the Arb for the 3737m race.
Although the Carls did not win the shoes, they certainly had the best uniforms. The team was split between Avatars and males—either of which can sufficiently intimidate Oles. On the course, John Davis ’11 led the team. Unable to compete for the men, he entered the women’s race. Two seconds behind Davis was Aly Wisekal ’14 in another impressive end-of-season race. A large pack of avatars followed Wisekal, led by ever-improving Sarah Trautman ’13. Lauren Chow ’14 was hot on her heels and Rachel Kittaka ’12 led the next trio across the line. Adrienne Bruder ’14 and Brooke McManigal ’14 pushed each other all the way through to the finish, edging out a couple of Oles.
Julie Besenbruch ’13 was the next avatar, using her cross-training skills to power through the finish. Carrie Harshbarger ’13 also competed well, as did Maddie Halloran ’14 and Claire Wilson ’14. No doubt the raucous cheering of the men’s team inspired these women.
Despite these efforts, the one shoe remained with the Oles. The other is yet to be found. This race concluded the cross-country season for much of the team. The rest of the team is continuing on into the NCAA post-season. Tomorrow they will run at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Waverly, IA to earn a bid to the national competition. The Knights are the defending champions and look to be in the top 4. St. Olaf is the favorite to win the meet but after that it’s wide open. Nebraska Wesleyan is always a wild-card, Luther has a strong pack, Wartburg is always decent, and St. Thomas did get the Carls at conference. Carleton is up to the challenge though and has a strong shot at qualifying.
-Alison Smyth is a member of the women’s cross country team.