2009 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships web site
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Carleton men’s track and field team concluded the weekend seventh in the team standings at the MIAC Indoor Championships. Charlie Gamble (Jr./San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) was a double winner, following up his impressive 5000-meter victory on Friday with another record-setting performance on day two at the 3000-meter distance.
Gamble stole the spotlight on Friday with his 5000 meter run time of 14:48.58, which was more than five-and-a-half seconds faster than the previous Olson Forum record (14:54.18 by North Dakota State’s Jesse Westrup in 1995). Gamble’s time is also an NCAA provisional qualifier. His next closest competitor in that race finished 19 seconds later.
He followed that up with another track record on Saturday, recording a winning time of 8:38.80 in the 3000 meter run. That time trimmed four seconds off the previous Olson Forum mark (8:42.83) established at the 2005 conference indoor championships by Carleton’s Dan Bucy ’05.
Evan Franco (Jr./Austin, Texas/James Bowie) earned All-MIAC distinction with a third-place showing in the pole vault after clearing 4.43 meters (14’ 6.25”), the second-highest vault in Carleton history. Kane Bechstein (Sr./Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) finished eighth in the same event.
The Knights’ entry in the 800 meter relay took home All-MIAC honorable mention with a sixth-place finish. The quartet of Steven Holley (So./St. Paul, Minn./Harding), Kyle Burkhardt (Jr./Eden Prairie, Minn.), Bechstein, and Dylan Bothun (So./Rosemount, Minn.) won its heat in 1:35.23.
Carleton concluded the weekend with another all-conference honorable mention relay performance. This time it was the 4x400 relay of Michael Sanders (Jr./Cedar Falls, Iowa), Nick Cesarek (Sr./Eagan, Minn./Eastview), Jack Delehanty (Sr./Madison, Wis./Monona Grove), and Tom Ballinger (Sr./Wenatchee, Wash.) finishing sixth in 3:24.25.
Other Carleton highlights from the weekend:
-- The Knights also had a strong showing on Friday in the 55 hurdles, where Ballinger, Bechstein, and Ty Martin (So./Minot, N.D.) all advanced to the finals. Bechstein smashed his personal best by nearly a half-second as he placed seventh at 8.06. Ballinger was next at 8.07. Martin (8.09 seconds) and Bothun notched new personal standards with their performances in the preliminaries.
-- Ballinger earned All-MIAC honorable mention with his finishes in the 400-meter and 600-yard dashes. At the longer distance, he finished fourth on Saturday, crossing the line at 1:14.39, only 0.01 second behind Gustavus’ Max Hanson. Ballinger was sixth in Friday’s 400-meter race with a time of 50.67.
-- In addition to his participation in the 4x400 meter relay, Delehanty earned all-conference honorable mention in a pair of individual events. In the 800 meter run on Friday, he crossed the line at 1:57.40, good for a new personal record and a sixth-place finish. He added a fifth-place showing in the 600-yard dash on Saturday.
-- Sanders was seventh in 800 meters and eighth during the 600-yard dash.
-- Cesarek placed eighth in the 55 meter dash with a personal-best time of 6.66 seconds on Friday. He added an 11th-place showing in the 200 meter dash on Saturday.
-- Jameson Siegert (So./Madison, Minn./Lac Qui Parle Valley) was 10th in the high jump at 1.84 meters.
