Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu

Results
 
MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (May 26, 2024) – For the second consecutive year, the North Central College men's track and field team had distance runners climb the podium in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship, held at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
 
North Central sent three athletes to the starting line in the 5,000-meter run Braden Nicholson, Connor Riss, and Max Svienty. Cole Oleson and Anthony Zajac also represented the Cardinals in the high jump and the hammer throw. 
 
On Saturday, the 5,000-meter run became a late-night run after two rain delays. Nicholson was in 19th at the 600-meter mark but continued to push his pace to move to fifth by the 1,000-meter mark. Nicholson made his way back up and to second place after a lot of movement in the pack. By the next lap, Nicholson passed Colorado College's James Settles to take first. The pack started to pick up the pace, and Nicholson fell to No. 3. Nicholson passed right before the finish line to place sixth and earned All-American honors (14.18.47). 
 
Riss, the No. 22nd seeding coming in, broke from the starting line in the ninth. Riss' position continued to fluctuate until the 3,800-meter mark where he settled into eighth. In the final lap, Riss quickened his pace and dodged runners to cross the finish line in 14 minutes and 18.14 seconds. Riss took fifth place and earned All-American honors. 
 
Svienty quickly made his way to fourth by the 1,000-meter mark. Unfortunately, Svienty got stuck on the inside of the pack 3,400 meters into the race and was not able to make it to the outside. Svienty took 18th with a time of 14 minutes and 42.16 seconds.
 
Zajac opened up his day with a toss of 57.30m in the hammer throw. Zajac's next throw measured to be 55.72m, but his third throw was unsuccessful and received a foul. Zajac had to wait for his fate to be decided on the second flight, which was repeatedly pushed back because of the rain. At the end of the day, Zajac earned Second Team All-American honors by finishing in 15th, three positions higher than his seed ranking.

In the field, Colton Oleson competed in the high jump on Friday. Oleson made his first jump at the height of 1.95m (6'4.75") with ease. Oleson's next height at 2.00m gave him some trouble, but on his third jump, he soared over the bar. At the 2.05m mark, Oleson was very close to making the height but missed all three attempts. Oleson finished tied for 16th in his first national meet.

North Central tied with Mount Union for 33rd with seven points each. UW-Lacrosse dominated the team standing with 76 points. Wisconsin Oshkosh was the national runner-up with 48 points. 
The 2024 athletic graduates have left their mark on the Cardinal program, including countless program records. To check out the program records, click HERE.

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