Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame
When Paul Carlstedt graduated from Augustana in 1968, he shared school records in the 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash and 440-yard and spring medley relays. A five-time conference champion and one of Augustana’s first track All-Americans, this evening he is inducted into the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame.
A native of Batavia, Illinois, Carlstedt was a key contributor to a College Conference of Illinois championship for Coach Lee Brissman’s Vikings as a freshman in 1965. He finished second in both the 100 and 220 and anchored a winning performance in the 440 relay. Augustana trailed North Central going into the final event—the mile relay—but with Carlstedt running the second leg, the Vikings won in 3:25.8 and claimed the team title by ½ point.
As a sophomore, Carlstedt was again part of a CCI-champion mile relay outfit. The quartet also was champion at the NCAA College Division Mid-East Regional held at Ericson Field.
Although he missed the conference meet due to injuries as a junior in 1967, Carlstedt was part of his first school record and earned All-America status in the 440 relay. Competing against big schools—including Notre Dame—at the Central Collegiate Conference Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he and his teammates tied the school 440 relay record of :42.7. Then, at the NCAA College Division Championships in Ogden, Utah, Geoff Smithers, Jim Braet, Carlstedt and Mark Schafer set a new school mark with a :41.9 in the preliminaries. The next day, they finished fourth in the nation in a time of :42.0, becoming Augustana’s first All-America relay team.
Carlstedt enjoyed a tremendous senior season, serving as a team captain for Coach Armin Pipho’s CCIW-champion Vikings and going unbeaten in both the 100 and 220. At the Viking Olympics, he tied school records in both events, matching Fred Whiting’s 1963 time of :09.7 in the 100 and Schafer’s 220 record of :21.8 set in 1967. In addition, Carlstedt ran :09.7 in the 100 three other times during the season and led off a school-record 3:27.5 performance in the sprint medley relay at the Drake Relays. He won conference championships at 100 and 220 yards, but unfortunately, a pulled muscle in the 440 relay prelims at the national meet ended his chances of repeating as an All-American.
With the transition to metric distances in the late 1970’s, Carlstedt’s school records in the 100-yard dash and 440-yard relay still stand and may well forever.
According to his wife, Freyja, Paul “was not much of a student, but had a lot of fun.” He graduated in 1968 with a degree in accounting. With the Vietnam War raging, and not wanting to enlist as a private, he applied for and was accepted to Army Officer Candidate School. Although he excelled and planned on a career in the military, contact with agent orange while serving in Vietnam resulted in health problems and a full medical retirement in 1977.
After leaving the army, Carlstedt worked as a salesman for Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance and when long hours interfered with coaching his sons in athletics, he moved on to Walden and Sons Food Brokers. His coaching activities eventually led to the presidency of the local Little League—a position he held for eight years. He also coached the boys in other sports, including soccer, which Freyja points out, “was an unfamiliar sport in the 1970’s.”
The Carlstedts also served as foster parents through Lutheran Social Services, eventually adopting two boys with special needs. They were active with the ARC of Sedgewick County, where Paul sat on the board and became president in 2005. A member of Christ Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas, Paul was a driving force behind the construction of a new building. His other church-related activities included organizing an ALS walk in support of a congregant and bringing a Gift of Life service to Wichita in celebration of organ donors and recipients.
Paul and Freyja raised four sons—Jeff, Jason, Michael and Robbie, who passed away in 1999—and are grandparents to Brooke, Josh, Christian and Cameron.
Paul Carlstedt died of cancer in June of 2013 at the age of 66. Freyja says the greatest tribute to him is, “the men and fathers his sons have become.”
