Contact: Devery Hodge, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
Carlisle, PA (Nov 18, 2023) - The North Central College men's cross-country team competed in the NCAA Division III National Championship. The team placed third overall, their highest finish since before Covid. This the 42nd time in the last 50 championships that the Cardinals have finished in the top four.
The first Cardinal to cross the line was Max Svienty as he crossed in third place with a time of 24:23 Svienty held a pace of 4:54 throughout the entire race. Svienty blazed the start to get solid positioning running a 4:47 for the first mile and being in the front pack. He would continue to pick more and more people off only gaining ground and never losing placing. For his efforts Max also took home an All-American trophy.
Drew Guimond and Braden Nicholson are the next Cardinals to cross as they crossed together in 15th and 17th. They ran times of 24:43 and 24:45 respectively. They also both took home All-American awards.
Connor Riss crossed the line in 81st place with a time of 25:35 and BJ Sorg crossed the line in 92nd with a time of 25:38.
Matt Jett ran a time of 25:45 to finish 103rd and James McGlashon ran a time of 25:48 to finish 111th. They finished ahead of the fifth runner for Pomona-Pitzer College to keep the Cardinals title chances alive.
The Cardinals in total ran an average time of 25:01.
North Central College scored 169 points to take third place. The teams finishing in front was Pomona-Pitzer College with 158 points in first and in second was University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with 159 points. Rounding out the top five is Williams University in fourth with 212 points and Wartburg College in fifth scoring 232 points.
When asked to give a quote about the final meet and the season entirely Coach Matt Sinnott said, "We are very proud of what these men have accomplished. Even though it isn't about the outcome, this is truly a very positive result reflecting the hard work they have put in over a long period of time. It has been since before Covid that we have been on the podium. A few of these men were freshmen at that time, so it's very fitting that they are the ones who led the way to bringing that standard back to the program.
While they were very capable of being National Champions, anything can happen at this level, especially when it comes down to one race on one day. Being only 11 points from first shows that it could've been anyone's day today!"
Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.
