Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Results

Feb. 27, 2016 - Putting together its best meet of the season at an opportune time, the North Central College women's track and field team won six events and set three meet records en route to a second-place finish in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Indoor Championships, held Friday and Saturday at Al B. Carius Track.

The Cardinals totaled 174 points to finish only behind No. 1-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University's winning total of 205, while Carthage College was a distant third with 82. 

For the second straight year, North Central distance runner Megan Costanzo was voted the CCIW's Track Athlete of the Meet after accounting for 28 of the Cardinals' points. She won the 5,000-meter run on Friday in a meet-record time of 17 minutes, 12.74 seconds, then rolled to a decisive win in the 3,000-meter run on Saturday in 9:56.82, breaking another meet record and lowering her own North Central varsity record by 12 seconds. Costanzo also placed second in the mile run in a time of 5:01.02 which ranks third all-time in the Cardinals' indoor history.

Also taking down a meet record was Madison Renfro, who broke her own CCIW standard in the 60-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 8.68 seconds. Her previous record of 8.82 seconds was set in 2014. The Cardinals claimed their 13th straight CCIW individual title in the pole vault, as Alexis Nelson's personal-best clearance of 12 feet, 2 1/2 inches netted her the win. Nelson now ranks fifth in North Central's history in the event.

Tori Capozziello, Allison Hartman, Hailey Dammeier and Rebecca Kaefring joined forces to win the distance medley relay in 12:18.63, and Dammeier later cleared a personal-best height of 5'3" to win the high jump.

Kayla Etherton placed second in the 20-pound weight throw, breaking her own North Central record with a mark of 53'4.50", while Jessica Sutfin turned in a 238-point personal best, recording lifetime bests in four of five events, to place second in the pentathlon (3,152). Kelsey Kirk tied for second place in the high jump (5'3") and Amanda Cortese finished second to Costanzo in the 3,000 (10:21.42).

Capozziello and Hartman teamed with Skylar Bayer and Priscilla Colon to finish third in the 4-by-400-meter relay (4:02.03). Capozziello also placed third in the 800-meter run (2:18.54), as did Cortese in the 5,000-meter run (18:23.62). Kaefring's fourth-place showing in the mile run (5:08.79) established a new North Central freshman record.

The Cardinals travel to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.