Contact:
Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant,
amfox@noctrl.edu
ELMHURST, Ill. (Apr. 7, 2024) - The North Central College men's track and field team flourished at the Chicagoland Championships, taking first among 21 teams. Many Cardinals athletes set new personal records, while
Braden Nicholson and
BJ Sorg set new program records.
The Cardinals took first place outscoring the runner-up, the University of Chicago, by 14.17 points. Olivet Nazarene University finished in third place, followed by Lewis University (No. 4). The College of DuPage closed out the top-five teams.
North Central history was made in the 3,000-meter run at the Chicagoland Championships. Nicholson finished in first place (8:17.79), followed by teammate Sorg in second (8:30.17), each setting new personal records. However, both athletes broke Dan Mayer's 30-year record set in 1994 of eight minutes and 31.4 seconds. Not only did Sorg break Mayer's record, but he also broke the freshman outdoor record for the 3,000-meter run set by Tim Vazquez in 2014 (8:31.90).
Cardinal runners swept the podium in the 1,500-meter run. In first place was
Lucas Hoffman with a personal best of 3:58.82.
Logan Tanttu finished in second (3:59.61), followed by
Max Svienty (4:00.08),
Aidan Armstrong (4:00.16), and
Connor Riss (4:00.32).
In the 3000-meter steeplechase,
Kal Hoppe turned in a second-place finish with a time of nine minutes and 20.62 seconds.
Clark Kelly earned a new personal record, as well as a fifth-place finish, with a time of nine minutes and 48.32 seconds.
Eric Turba and
Austin Emrath also set new personal record. Turba earned a third-place finish (15:20.34) in the 5,000-meter run. While Emrath took fifth-place in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 32 minutes and 25.74 seconds.
In the field,
Anthony Zajac finished in first place in the hammer throw (176'10", 53.90m) and fifth in the discus throw. Zajac's toss in the hammer throw was a new personal record and improved his record in the program's outdoor top-10 records, as he already holds No. 3.
Jayden Leise earned a fourth-place finish in the triple jump (45'07.25", 13.90m). Meanwhile,
Grant Sarris took fifth place in the pole vault (13'03.50", 4.05m).
Next weekend, Cardinal athletes will take part in the University of Wisconsin Platteville Invitational Friday, Apr. 12, in Platteville, Wis. Additionally, North Central will face off against Wheaton College on Saturday, Apr. 13, in Wheaton, Ill.
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