2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Web site
MARIETTA, Ohio — Sophomore Kelly Lovett (Portland, Ore./Lincoln) and first-year Simone Childs-Walker (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) were the only members of the Carleton women’s track and field team to compete at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The pair qualified for three events and finished the weekend with a trio of All-America performances. Carleton concluded the weekend in a tie for 31st place among 79 programs to tally at least one point at the national meet.
The Knights got off to a great start on day one as Lovett placed seventh in the javelin on Thursday with a distance of 137-8 (41.96 meters). Later that evening, Childs-Walker finished eighth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 36:18.45.
On Saturday, the final day of competition, Childs-Walker—who finished third in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Championships back in March—equaled that performance with her third All-America effort of the year. She placed third once again, this time crossing the line at 17:22.45.Lovett’s best throw came on her final attempt during the preliminary round and ultimately made her the 23rd Carleton woman to ever earn All-America honors in track and field. She joins Kristi Colbenson ’05 as the only Knights to do so in the javelin.
“Kelly put it all together,” said Head Coach Donna Ricks. “This is a tremendous way for her to end the season. It is great for Kelly to get the experience of competing at nationals, and we’re excited about carrying this over into next year.”
Lovett—who battled a shoulder injury the last half of the season, including during her fourth-place finish at the MIAC Championships—did very little throwing leading up to the national meet, instead focusing her practice time on improving her approach.
Gustavus Adolphus senior Lisa Brown successfully defended her national title with a stadium-record throw of 158-0 (48.16 meters) during the finals.
Childs-Walker, who raced in the last event on day one, earned All-America distinction by finishing eighth. She was edged at the line by Joanna Johnson of Oberlin College by 0.25 second. The lone senior among the top 10 finishers, Lauren Philbrook of Williams College, established a new stadium record with her winning time of 35:24.78. The race began with 18 runners, with one dropping out.
“I’m proud of Simone,” said Ricks. “It is impressive that she performed so well given that she was the only first-year to qualify for the event.”
Childs-Walker was back on the track on Saturday afternoon and put together a solid race plan, similar to the one she used in finishing third at the national indoor meet. With about a mile remaining in the race, she picked up her pace and climbed from eighth up to third place.
As a result, Childs-Walker is the 11th Carleton woman to earn multiple All-America honors during their careers and the eighth to do so in both indoor and outdoor track during the same season.
She also became only the third Carleton woman to earn All-America status three times in track and field during the same year, joining Anna Prineas (1988) and Sandra Helquist (1999) on that short list.
“Simone struggled a bit physically with the heat on day one and didn’t feel good, but with the day off between she had a chance to recover,” said Ricks. “She came back and ran a great race today.
“Overall this was a great meet for us. Bringing three athletes (including Tom Ballinger who finished third in the 400 hurdles for the Carleton men) and leaving with four All-America finishes.”
Ayla Mitchell of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the 10K event with a Don Drumm Stadium record time of 17:14.52.
