NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College men's track & field team dominated the middle distance events at the Tostrud Classic, winning the 600-meter, 800-meter, 1000-meter, and mile runs at the final tune-up before the MIAC Indoor Championships.
Overall, Carleton finished fifth out of seven teams to score at the meet.
The competition started with
Aravindh Subramanian (Sr./Dayton, N.J./South Brunswick) high jumping for the first time since sustaining an ankle injury in the fall. The entire team cheered him on as he qualified for the conference meet after clearing 1.70 meters, good for second place.
That may have been the spark to get the fireworks started for the Knights on the track.
Ian Mortensen (Jr./Seattle, Wash./Shorecrest) had the second-fastest time (9.11) during the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles but elected to pass on racing in the event finals.
Chris Melville (Jr./Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington Jefferson) bested the 20-runner field in the mile with a time of 4:20.17, good for a nearly 9.5-second personal record.
The 600-meter run saw Carleton athletes sweep the podium as they posted the No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 performances in recorded team history.
Reese Anderson (Fy./Frontenac, Minn./Lake City) won the event with a time of 1:22.66.
Josh Meier (So./Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) was close behind at 1:22.86, and
Jeremy Fong (Sr./Niiza-Shi, Japan/Christian Academy in Japan) earned the bronze at 1:23.05. That trio ranks second through fourth in the MIAC this season.
Indy Lyness (Fy./Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) was up next in winning the 800-meter race, leading wire-to-wire with the MIAC's third-fastest time of the season (1:57.28).
Then it was time for the 1000-meter run, and
Gabe Nichols (Fy./Grove City, Penn./Grove City),
Roy Llewellyn (Fy./Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North)
, and
Elijah Jones (Sr./Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) did not disappoint. Nichols sprinted out to a 28.0 second opening lap to erase all doubt of the outcome. He finished with the MIAC's top time (2:30.83) this season and now ranks No. 5 in Carleton annals, moving ahead of Dan Casper from 1987. Llewellyn placed third overall with a time of 2:34.09 (fifth in the MIAC this season) with Jones next across the line at 2:36.70.
Alistair Pattison (Jr./St. Paul, Minn./Como Park) joined in the fun by winning the other heat in 2:38.87, meaning the Knights went 1-3-4-5 on this day.
Carleton's entry in the 4x200-meter relay took second place with a time of 1:35.57.
Up Next for the Knights
The MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held at Macalester College on Feb. 23-25. The MIAC Heptathlon will be contested on Thursday and Friday, with the bulk of the meet to be held on Friday afternoon and Saturday.
