NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- In the annual battle between crosstown rivals, Carleton College senior Blake Hansen (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) ran a season-best time of 27:41 to become the winner of the Great Karhu Shoe Race. The favored Ole harriers came out on top in the team competition, 22-38, as the was contested over a long 8,100-meter course on the edge of the St. Olaf campus.
In Don Quixote-like fashion, Hansen’s strong performance in the shadows of the St. Olaf windmill (wind turbine) may have been responsible for the campus being without power on Thursday.
Other quixotic were put in by members of the famed Freshmen Flotilla. This group included Adam Scherling (San Diego, Calif./University City), Aaron Hirsch (Shaker Heights, Ohio), and Chas Karch (Madison, Wis./West), who finished fifth, 13th and 14th respectively. Senior Michael Sanders (Cedar Falls, Iowa) finished an outstanding first-season by placing ninth in 28:46.
For most of these runners, this was a great finish to their season. Hansen is an exception as he will travel with the team’s top runners to the NCAA Central Region Championships in Grinnell, Iowa on Nov. 14
The Great Karhu Shoe Race
Carleton Finishers
1 -- Blake Hansen -- 27:41
5 -- Adam Scherling -- 28:29
9 -- Michael Sanders -- 28:46
13 -- Aaron Hirsh -- 29:11
14 -- Chas Karch -- 29:17
15 -- Jon Kitakka -- 29:27
16 -- Reid McMurry -- 29:31
17 -- Michael Knudson -- 29:32
25 -- Evan Johnson -- 30:39
28 -- Andy Hardt -- 32:11
29 -- Joe Marren -- 32:37
St Olaf 22
Carleton 38