2009 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships web site
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Carleton women’s track and field team finished sixth at the MIAC Indoor Championships. The Knights finished the weekend with a trio of individual titles as first-year Clare Franco (Brunswick, Maine) prevailed in the 400 meter dash and fellow rookie Simone Childs-Walker (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) smashed the MIAC meet record in winning the 5000 meter run on Friday before doubling up with a 14-second triumph in the 3000 meter race on day two.
On Saturday, Childs-Walker broke her second track record in as many days, finishing the 3000 meter run in 10:03.70, to clip more than eight seconds off the previous Olson Forum standard established nine years ago. This performance came less than 24 hours after she bested the track record by more than seven seconds as she finished the 5K race in 17:15.31. That time was also nearly four-and-a-half seconds better than the previous MIAC Indoor Championships standard (17:21.78) set by Keidra Anderson of Hamline in 2006. Childs-Walker lapped nearly the entire field as she broke Carleton record previously held by Laura Bloedorn '03.Franco finished her race on Friday in 58.36, nearly a full second ahead of St. Thomas’ Nikki Arola, the defending champion in the event. To the surprise of many in attendance, Franco caught the top seed with about 40 meters to go before pulling away.
Franco returned to the track on Saturday and earned All-MIAC honors for the second time as she placed third in the 600 meter dash with a time of 1:38.47 . She later won her heat in the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.91, finishing fifth overall to receive all-conference honorable mention.
Both Childs-Walker and Franco recorded NCAA provisional qualifying times during their victories on day one.
Other Carleton highlights from the weekend:
-- Laura Roach (Jr./Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) earned All-MIAC honorable mention for the second time this weekend as she placed fourth in the 1000 meter run on Saturday, posting a time of 3:02.47. Lindsey Nietmann (Sr./Kirkland, Wash./Juanita) placed eighth, and Sarah Forzley (Jr./South Windsor, Conn.) crossed the line 12th. That trio placed fourth, seventh and ninth respectively during the mile run on Friday.
-- Five other Knights joined Childs-Walker in running the 3000 meter race, with Alison Smyth (Fy./Billings, Mont./Billings West) the next-fastest finisher in seventh place.
-- Taylor Ffitch (Fy./Portland, Ore./St. Mary's Academy) finished fourth in the 5000 meter race on Friday and received distinction as All-MIAC honorable mention. She was 11th in the 3000 meter run on day two.
-- Jill Merkle (Fy./Wayzata, Minn./Hopkins) won her heat with a time of 9.09 seconds and advanced to the finals in the 55 meter hurdles on Friday evening.
-- The distance medley relay of Roach and rookies Kristine Nachbor (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong), Kaitlin Randolph (Drummond, Wis.), and Smyth finished fourth at 12:47.12. Smyth nearly caught the runner from St. Catherine’s at the finish line as the Knights earned all-conference honorable mention on Friday.
-- Amy Elson (Jr./Davis, Calif.) was ninth in the pentathlon on Thursday and added a ninth-place finish in the triple jump on Saturday, recording a distance of 33’8.75”.-- Kyla Walter (So./Aspen, Colo.) tied for ninth at the high jump after clearing 1.43 metersearly on Saturday.
