MANKATO, Minn. – The Carleton College women's track and field program finished fourth out of 12 teams at the Mark Schuck Open.
Meet host Minnesota State Mankato is the No. 1 ranked NCAA Division II program in the nation and amassed 352.50 points. Regionally-ranked D-II programs from Sioux Falls and Wayne State (Neb.) collected 80 and 69 points respectively, the latter finishing a single point ahead of Carleton. Three more regionally-ranked Division II programs—Southwest Minnesota State, Winona State, and Concordia-St. Paul—placed fifth through seventh.
A trio of Carleton runners placed in the top seven for the mile.
Mary Blanchard came in fourth with a time of 5:15.84.
Libby Rowland came in sixth with a time of 5:17.97, while
Nora Daley brought in a new PR with a time of 5:19.05, good for seventh place.
In the 600-meter run,
Alice Cutter earned first place with a personal-best time of 1:42.44. She won her heat by nearly three seconds but had to wait to see how racers in the second heat performed. Bellamy Sukalski of Winona State cruised to the victory by crossed the line 0.01 second behind Cutter's time.
Blanchard returned to the track for the 800-meter race and finished the event in 2:20.79, coming in second place.
The 1000-meter run had two participants for Carleton, with Rowland and Daley coming in sixth and eighth, respectively, with times of 3:06.49 and 3:08.11.
The Knights capped their participation at this meet with a dominant performance in the 5000-meter run as the top six spots belonging to Carleton. Both
Phoebe Ward and
Sophie McManus set new personal best, with Ward winning the race at 17:11.58 and McManus finishing runner up exactly a second later.
Helen Cross came in third place, finishing in 17:22.22.
Hannah Preisser was the next Knight to pass over the finish line, placing fourth with a time of 17:36.73.
Aliya Larsen had her best 5000-meter race, setting a new PR with a time of 17:54.77, good for fifth place.
Katie Hirsche followed her, coming in sixth place with a time of 18:26.92.
While most of the roster was at Minnesota State,
Nennah Bosman participated in the weight throw at the St. Olaf Invitational. She finished with a 12.59-meter heave, good for 14th place.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will return to Mankato next Saturday, Feb. 3 to take part in the Ted Nelson Classic.
