SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Eight members of the Carleton College women's track & field program headed to Southern California to get the outdoor season started by competing at the Mangrum Invitational hosted by Cal State San Marcos. The 21-team meet included three NCAA Division I programs and seven more NCAA D-II squads.
"What an exciting way to start the outdoor season," said Carleton head coach
Donna Ricks. "I saw tremendous effort by all of the athletes. As a result, they achieved personal bests or implemented race structures that will set them up for strong performances this season"
Alice Islam and
Michelle Musa were the first Knights to hit the track, and they finished at 13.19 and 13.40, respectively, in the 100-meter dash. Musa's time was good for a new personal best.
Lara Erickson established a new PR by nearly a full second when she finished the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.63. That was good for fifth place in the 48-runner field and place her ahead of 4-of the-6 entrants from the NCAA D-I program at UC San Diego.
Kayla Marx posted a time of 2:25.25, good for 21st place.
Charlotte Kusch clocked a time of 26.63 in the 200-meter dash, only 0.01 second behind a runner from the University of Wisconsin (D-I). In the same event, Musa finished at 27.97.
The Knights' entry in the 4x400-meter relay finished ninth as Kusch, Erickson, Marx, and Islam combined on a time of 4:14.89.
Sophie McManus was the runner-up in the 25-runner field for the 3000-meter steeplechase. She covered the distance in 10:50.93, the second-fastest time of her career behind her 2024 MIAC title performance.
Libby Rowland set a new personal best as her time of 11:15.66 ranked ninth overall. This is the ninth time that Rowland has run competed in this event and only once over that span has she not bettered her time from the previous race.
The meet concluded with the 10,000-meter run.
Maggie Votruba placed 10th with a time of 41:44.65, the second-fastest finish of her career.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will take part in the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic hosted by UC Irvine on Saturday, March 29.
