NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College women's track & field team won nine events at the Ole Opener, the first competition of the season.
 
"I was extremely impressed with the overall performances of this team," said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks. "Right from the start, the athletes demonstrated they were ready to compete, and the momentum steadily built as our athletes took to the track. Emily Litton (Sr./Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) started off with her first collegiate win in the pole vault, and after that nine personal bests were set, a tremendous accomplishment in the first meet of the season."
 
In addition to Litton's victory in the pole vault after clearing 2.90 meters, Neenah Bosman (Jr./Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake) added another triumph in the field events, measuring a personal-best 14.20 meters to win the weight throw. Her previous collegiate best had been 13.45 meters.
 
Riley Roberts (Jr./Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington) and Bianca Lott (Fy./Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) finished 1-2 in the 60-meter dash. Roberts clocked a personal-best time of 8.32 to nudge out her teammate, who finished in 8.34.
 
Hadley Twichell (Fy./Redwood City, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) won the 200-meter dash in 27.47 and was joined by Jocelyn Ferguson (So./Minneapolis, Minn./Minneapolis South) in posting a 1-2 result in the 400-meter dash.
 
Celia Silverstein (Fy./Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) was first to the line in the 600-meter dash, clocking a time of 1:45.31.
 
Clocking a personal-best time of 3:05.01, Mary Blanchard (Jr./Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) used a strong finishing kick to pass St. Olaf's top finisher (3:05.49) for first place in the 1000-meter run.
 
Carleton earned the top six spots in the mile run, with Rainey Tilley (Sr./South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) leading the way at 5:28.82.
 
Clara Mayfield (Sr./Manhattan, Kan./Manhattan) and Helen Cross (Jr./Nederland, Colo./Nederland) finished 1-2 in the 3000-meter run. The former clocked a time of 9:52.16, while the latter crossed the line with a 15-second PR of 10:02.92.
 
"The women's 3000 meters race was the strongest race I have seen outside of a national championship meet in D-III," said Ricks. "This race was stellar."
 
After St. Olaf nabbed spots 3-4-5, Libby Rowland (So./Tulsa, Okla./Holland Hall) finished sixth, improving her time by 29 seconds by running 10:17.71. First-year Hannah Preisser (Chapel Hill, N.C./Carrboro) ran 10:19:10 in her first collegiate 3k, and rounding out the top 8 was Sophie McManus (So./McCall, Idaho/McCall-Donnelly), who posted a personal best by 11 seconds with a time of 10:19.15.
 
"Marte Borgmann (Sr./Seattle, Wash./Garfield) also demonstrated her mental toughness by racing out front for the entire race in the first section of the 3k," Ricks said, "overall tremendous racing."
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads to Macalester College for the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic on Saturday, Jan. 21. Field events are slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. with racing on the track starting at 11:00 a.m.