<st Friday night the Carleton men’s track and field team got their weekend started by competing at the St. Olaf Qualifier in Northfield. For some Carls it was the last race of the indoor season, while for others it was one final test before the conference meet this weekend. As is often the case for indoor meets, no team scores were kept, but several Carls performed admirably at the end of a tough eighth week.
Ty Martin ‘11 again led the way for the Knights, notching a pair of second-place finishes in the 55-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash. Martin tied his personal best of 7.88 seconds in the hurdles, while running a personal best 51.92 in the 400.
Josh Campbell ‘13 led a deep Carleton contingent in the 1000 meters, breaking his personal best by nearly two seconds en route to a fourth place finish and a time of 2:36. Brian Spisiak ’13 dropped a hammer and an impressive seven seconds off his last 1000-meter race to run 2:41. A strong kick carried Jacob Hoerger ’14 across the finish line in a time of 2:43. Kian Flynn ’12 and Aaron Hirsh ’13 finished one second slower. Reid McMurry ’13, Famous Johnson ’12, and Phil Juda ’13 followed, all running season-best times.
Bobby Davis ’13 took sixth place in the mile with a time of 4:34. Colin Sinclair ’11 ran 4:37 and McMurry ran 4:45 in his first of two races. Michael Knudson ’11 and Michael Tolan ’14 renewed their battle from the week before, this time fighting down the stretch in the mile. Tolan’s brutal last lap was almost enough to overcome Knudson’s steadfast resolve, but Michael managed to pull off the victory by 0.03 seconds over Michael, both finishing in 4:57. While Tolan was gleeful to break 5:00 in the mile for the first time, Knudson asserted his dominance as the top Michael in the race, which was no small feat, given that a third Michael finished immediately behind in 4:59.
Dylan Cheever ’13 had his best jump of the season, clearing 1.82 meters in the high jump. Lobo James ’14 also reached that mark, while Jameson Siegert ’11 cleared 1.77 meters. C.J. Dale placed fifth in the triple jump with a season best jump of 12.68 meters. Ski jumper Cooper Dodds ‘13 joined him, jumping 11.53 meters (without skis) while Joshua Estes ’14 made it 11.36 in his first triple jump appearance of the season. Dodds and Estes also set season bests in the long jump.
Going under 2:00 in the 800 meters was nearly a reality for Marcus Huderle ’14, who ran 2:00.38 to finish fifth in a crowded race. Matt Harrison ’13 and Peter Franco ’14 ran 2:05 and 2:07, respectively, their best times of the season so far.
Jordan Butler ’13 showed signs of late season form, running 53.57 to cut more than half a second off his season best in the 400 meters. Nick Herringer ’14 and Michael Austin ’13 finished in 54 seconds. Dale, Estes, Butler, and Austin all turned in strong showings in the 200 meters, clocking between 24 and 25 seconds. Estes recorded personal bests in all four events he competed in, including the 55 meter dash, which he ran in 6.88 seconds.
Chas Karch ’13 was the sole Carl in the 3000 meters. Inspired by a wave as well as a human pyramid formed by race-weary Carls, Karch hung tough to run 9:47. Karch was pleased to find that his finishing time of 587 seconds was prime.
“While this race told me that I’m fit, more importantly it showed me how well I’m taking to heart what I’ve learned in number theory,“ stated Karch, before asking Flynn, “Hey Kian, did you run a prime time?”
Today and tomorrow, Carleton will head north to compete at the MIAC Championships at St. Thomas University in St. Paul. St. Thomas boasts a new athletic facility that claims to have an “infinite” triple jump runway. The Carls look forward to finding out how this is possible, as well as competing at the biggest indoor meet of the season.
Colin Sinclair is a member of the men’s track and field team.