Carleton Alum Hooley Wins, Qualifies in Eugene

Carleton College alum Matt Hooley was a big winner at Oregon's Eugene Marathon on Sunday, taking the 3rd-annual event by a full eight minutes.

The Madison, Wisconsin resident clocked 2:18:38, which qualified him for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon. Hooley (pictured racing the Human Race 8K) needed to run 2:19:00 or faster to achieve the standard.

The NCAA Division III all-American was paced for 19 miles by his Team Strands teammate Mike Reneau, the long-time Minnesota road race regular originally from Hudson, Wisconsin.

Hooley was the runner-up at St. Paul's Human Race 8K in March.

The Eugene Register-Guard has a nice story about Hooley's race HERE.

Complete results from the event are HERE.

Lots of Marathon Action ... Hooley wasn't the only Minnesotan racing a long one last weekend. 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier Melissa Gacek won the Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha in 3:04:38. Former Duluth and Twin Cities resident Pat Russell won the Eau Claire Marathon in 2:34:03. And, Sharon Stubler returned to her hometown (and mine!) to win the La Crosse Marathon in 3:16:16.

Photo by Gene Niemi.