ST. PAUL, Minn. – Gabe Nichols and Ian Mortensen were event winners for the Carleton College men's track & field program at the 16-team Hamline Invitational, the first full-squad meet of the outdoor season.
 
"Super windy today, which hurt some event performances," noted Carleton head coach Dave Ricks. "Some events were not really affected, like the field events, the 100-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles. But every event where you ran around the track was impacted by the strong winds. We still had a good day."
 
The competition was held during a steady 20-plus mph breeze that saw gusts approached 40 mph at times.
 
Nichols won the 1500-meter run, reaching the line in 3:55.49, the top time in the MIAC this season. Fellow Knights Indy Lyness and Roy Lewellyn took third and fourth, respectively, posting times of 4:00.08 and 4:00.68.
 
Mortensen won the javelin throw with a measurement of 55.38 meters (181 feet, 8 inches) on his first attempt. He also added new personal bests in the shot put (12.25 meters) and discus (35.81 meters).
 
Lyness and Nichols returned to the track later in the meet and took second and third, respectively, in the 800-meter run. The former crossed the line at 1:57.08, while the latter did so in a personal best 1:57.46. Alistair Pattison and Josh Meier, finished fifth and sixth in a field of 44 runners, clocking times of 1:58.25 and 1:58.36. Llewellyn placed 10th with a new PR of 2:00.77.
 
Soren Kaster finished second in the pole vault, clearing a personal-best 4.35 meters (14 feet, 3.25 inches) as he moved into sixth place on Carleton's all-time list. He also earned fourth place in the 400-meter hurdles, covering the distance in a personal best 58.47. Kaster added a third PR in the javelin (42.34 meters).
 
Ethan Cline-Cole took fifth in the triple jump after measuring 12.24 meters on his final attempt.
 
Brett Hanley had Carleton's other top-10 result, completing the 3000-meter steeplechase in 9:59.82, good for seventh place.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads to the Bethel Invitational to be held in Arden Hills, Minn. on April 13.