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

Results

WAVERLY, Iowa (May 28, 2016) - All-America accolades in three events highlighted the final day of competition at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships for the North Central College men's track and field team on Saturday, as the Cardinals turned in an eighth-place finish at Wartburg College.

North Central totaled 22 points in the three-day competition. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won the meet with 41 points, followed by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (33), Monmouth College (32) and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (31).

Two of the Cardinals' All-America plaques on Saturday came from senior middle distance runner Aron Sebhat, who was the lone athlete in the field attempting to double up in both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. He began his day by earning All-America honors in the 1,500 for the second straight year, hitting the finish line in three minutes, 50.65 seconds to place fifth overall.

Less than 90 minutes later, Sebhat took to the track for the 800, finishing in 1:55.08 to place seventh in his first time competing at the distance at the national level.

"I never saw myself doubling at this meet, because it's tough to do," Sebhat said. "I did it to get more points for the team, so I'm happy with that. 

"It helped me a ton to have so many of my teammates here cheering me on. It keeps it at the front of my mind that I'm not just running for myself. During the race, once I'm in it and I'm kicking all-out, I definitely think about my team because it drves me forward and helps me give that much more."

North Central also scored points in the meet's final event, the 4-by-400-meter relay. After claiming the eighth and final spot in Saturday's race with a season-best qualifying time on Thursday, the Cardinals' quartet of Daniel Spaccapaniccia, Ben Nordman, Zach Kirby and Peyton Piron moved up one more spot on the ladder and finished seventh with a time of 3:14.57. The same relay combination also earned All-America accolades in the event at the indoor national championships in March.

Zach Plank narrowly missed out on a second All-America award in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday, finishing ninth overall (14:52.88). Tim Vazquez joined Plank on the start line of the 5,000 and finished 17th (15:21.83), while Ethan Adlfinger placed 13th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final (9:54.59) after sustaining a midrace fall while attempting to negotiate one of the barriers.