NORTHFIELD, Minn. – On the last day of the MIAC Indoor Championships, the Carleton College women's track & field program used a late surge to earn a tie for fourth place in the team standings.
Bethel University claimed its third consecutive MIAC team title with 158 points, followed in the 12-team competition by Saint Benedict (120), Gustavus (109.5), and a tie between Carleton and St. Olaf, both with 101 points.
"Scoring 101 points was an impressive feat by our team," said Carleton head coach
Donna Ricks. "They really compete with a lot of heart. I am so proud!"
The Knights' 4x200-meter relay started out the day with a season best as
Hadley Twitchell,
Riley Roberts,
Bianca Lott, and
Michelle Musa combined on a time of 1:50.89, more than four seconds faster than their seed time.
Lara Erickson earned all-conference honorable mention after finishing sixth in the 600-meter run. She posted a personal best time of 1:38.85.
Mary Blanchard picked up Carleton's first victory of the meet, crossing the finish line in the 1000-meter run with a time 3:00.63.
Libby Rowland contributed to the team score with her seventh-place result at a personal-best 3:06.11.
The Knights trailed St. Olaf by 16 points in the standings with only two events remaining.
All seven Carleton racers in the 3000-meter run were coming back after competing in the 5K on Friday. Five the Knights scored as accumulated 23 points compared to 6 for the Oles.
Sophie McManus finished in second place with a time of 9:59.17, edging teammate
Helen Cross (9:59.21) at the line. Both of them took home All-MIAC recognition.
Hannah Preisser (10:02.72) was fourth, and
Phoebe Ward finished in sixth place (10:09.26) as they both earned all-conference honorable mention.
Aliya Larsen picked up a crucial team point with her eighth-place result at 10:16.50.
Carleton led St. Olaf 97-96 heading into the final event, the 4x400-meter relay. The Knights were seeded seventh, while the Oles' quartet was seeded fourth. The two entries were in different heats. Carleton won the second heat as Erickson, Twichell,
Alice Cutter, and Blanchard ran to a season-best time of 4:08.25 and received all-conference honorable mention. St. Olaf finished last in the third heat but posted a time of 4:06.81, edging the Knights for fifth place and leaving the teams in a tie at 101 points.
Next Up for the Knights
Carleton may send a few student-athletes to compete at the UW-La Crosse Qualifier on March 2.
