NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The distance runners grabbed the majority of the spotlight for Carleton at the Manitou Classic hosted by St. Olaf College. Simone Childs-Walker (Fy./Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) continued her magical rookie year by winning the 10,000-meter run in her first-ever attempt. She led start-to-finish and did so with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 36:31.25.
Fellow first-year Taylor Ffitch (Portland, Ore./St. Mary's Academy) finished fourth in her first 10,000-meter race.
Alison Smyth (Fy./Billings, Mont./Billings West) and Karen Campbell (Sr./Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) earned the top two spots during the 5,000-meter run with teammate Shannon Mueller (Fy./Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) placing sixth
Laura Roach (Jr./Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) established a new personal record in the 1,500-meter race as she finished third at 4:41.42.
Rookie Clare Franco (Brunswick, Maine) had a busy day as she competed in five events, advancing to the finals in all but the shot put. She finished third in the 400-meter dash, fourth in the 100- and 200-meter sprints, and sixth in the long jump.
Additional highlights include Kaitlin Randolph (Fy./Drummond, Wis.) recording a personal record as she finished ninth in the 400-meter hurdles, Pepsi Margoles (Sr./Saint Louis Park, Minn.) clearing 2.80 meters in the pole vault for a new personal standard, and the 4x400 relay of Jill Merkle (Fy./Wayzata, Minn./Hopkins), Randolph, Roach, and Kelsey Donald (Jr./Madison, Wis./Edgewood) posting a season-best time of 4:12.74.
The Knights will next compete at the Macalester Invitational on Saturday, April 25.