FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Day One Results
Day Two Results
Team Scores

Feb. 27, 2010-- Recording three event wins and six provisional qualifiers, the North Central College women's track & field squad finished runner-up at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Indoor Championships, hosted for the first time ever on campus at the Al B. Carius Track.

The Cardinals finished the two-day meet with 198.5 points, good for second place behind Illinois Wesleyan University, who wins the title for the third straight season after accumulating 252 points. Carthage College was a distant third with 87 points followed by Millikin University (54 points) in fourth, Augustana College (35 points) in fifth and Elmhurst College (14 points) in sixth. North Park University finished seventh with 11 points while Wheaton College was eight with 10.5 points.

North Central had a strong showing in day one of competition on Friday, emerging as the early leader in the team standings after six events, holding a 24.5 point edge over defending champion Illinois Wesleyan.

Rachel Secrest claimed the pole vault title for the second consecutive season after clearing a provisional qualifying height of 12 feet 1 1/2 inches, helping the Cardinals sweep the top three spots in the event. Meghan Court turned in a runner-up showing, clearing 11'1 3/4" while Brenna Marron placed third after vaulting 10'8". The victory by Secrest continues North Central's dominance in the event as Cardinal vaulters have claimed the last seven straight titles at the conference meet. Secrest would additionally tally a second place finish in the long jump (17'6 1/4").

Melissa Savino won two of the five events in the pentathlon, placing second and improving her provisional qualifying mark in the process. The junior sprinted to the victory in the pentathlon 55-meter hurdles (8.62) while also winning the pentathlon long jump (17'2 3/4"), finishing the afternoon with 2,169 points.

Amanda Laesch finished one-tenth of a second shy of first place in the 5,000-meters on Friday, clocking a 17:59.01 to finish behind Illinois Wesleyan's Kerry Devitt with teammate Lauren Hooks placing third (18:12.08). Laesch would get redemption on Saturday, defeating Devitt by a razor-thin margin in the 3,000-meters after out-kicking the Titan to finish in 10:27.04 for her first CCIW individual crown. Hooks would once again finish third, crossing the finish line in 10:39.19.

In the high jump on Saturday, Michelle Criscione claimed the event for the third straight season, clearing a provisional qualifying height of 5'5 1/4", while teammate Krista Cota placed third (5'3 1/4").

Brandye Jackson tallied a runner-up showing in the 55-meter hurdles, clocking a provisional qualifying time of 8.42 with Savino placing third (8.79). Lauren Brightmore shaved over 1/2 second off her previous best time in the 400-meters, stopping the clock in a provisional qualifying time of 57.40 to place second.

Triple jumpers Brianna Tolliver and Annie Adamson finished back-to-back in second and third, Tolliver leaped a provisional qualifying distance of 36'11 3/4" while Adamson jumped 36'7 1/2".

Sheila Walsh, Samantha Bunsen, Brightmore and Kala Bingham closed out the meet with a second place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, crossing the line in a season-best time of 4:00.26. The Cardinals held a late lead in the race before the Titans made a move on the final homestretch to pull out the victory by one-tenth of a second.

North Central will send select individuals to Stevens Point, Wis. for the Pointer Last Chance Meet next Saturday, where they will have one final shot at qualifying for the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships.