Track & Field and Football
As a sophomore in 1984, track and field and football star Rick Bollin placed second in the decathlon at the NCAA Division III Track and Field championships, hosted by Carleton. His performance was even more remarkable because Bollin had taken up the discipline a mere three weeks prior, when he finished first at the inaugural Carleton decathlon-heptathlon meet. Following the meet, Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Doug Grow predicted that Carleton would “never be the same,” and would become just another “jock factory” after having produced an athlete of Bollin’s caliber.
Bollin went on to compete in two more national-meet decathlons, taking eighth as a junior in 1985 and second again as a senior in 1986, giving him three All-America citations in that event. He still holds a Carleton record of 6,800 points, set in 1985.
At the 1985 and 1986 indoor track national meets, Bollin competed in the 55-meter high hurdles. Later that spring he was named MVP of the MIAC championships for his decathlon performance. Bollin also anchored Carleton’s 4×100-meter relay team that qualified for nationals in 1986.
As a tight end for Carleton’s football team, Bollin was named to the All-MIAC second team in 1984 before a knee injury the following season ended his football career prematurely.
In 1986 Bollin received Carleton’s Warren Beson Award, given annually to the senior athlete who excels in the classroom and on the field.He was an economics major from Winona, Minn.
Bollin most fondly recalls the friendships he made at Carleton. “The thing I’ll remember most is the people I met,” he said. “The core group of friends I made there are friends for life.”