Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
Mar. 30, 2025 - The North Central College men's track team had quite a busy weekend as the Cardinals sent a handful of distance runners to the Washington University Distance Carnival while hosting the First Chance Invitational in Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
In the hammer throw,
Anthony Zajac demolished his old school record of 57.68 meters (189'03") with a throw of 58.80 meters (192'11"). Zajac finished the event in second place and is tied for fourth in the national rankings.
Ben Balboa placed first and third in shot put and discus. Balboa won the shot put with a toss of 15.36 meters (50'4.75") and took third in discus with a throw of 45.58 (149'6"). His winning throw ranks No. 17 in the nation.
Jayden Leise finished first in the triple jump with a mark of 14.52 meters (47'7.75") and sits at No. 4 in the national rankings.
James Ammenhauser tied for first in the long jump (7.14, 23'5.25") and sits at No. 6 in the nationwide rankings and No. 7 in program history. In the javelin throw,
Yasnier Rojas took third place with a toss of 47.30 meters (155'2").
On the track, the Cardinals saw equal success, with numerous runners breaking their personal records and placing in the program's top ten. North Central finished first and second place in the 4-by-100-meter relay.
Zach Anderson,
Randall Reed,
Brian Jackson, and
Alexander Knight earned a first-place finish by clocking a time of 40.88 seconds. Not only did the team's relay time land second in program history, but it is also the third fastest relay nationally.
Matt Lewis,
Marcus Caselberry, Gabriel Parker, and Dion'ta McDaniel finished in second place in 41.65 seconds.
Caselberry earned a second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, with a 56.04-second finish, and took control of fifth in the program's top ten leaders. Knight and
Daniel Nwatu took third in the 100-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles. Knight earned a 10.77-second finish, which ranks fourth in the program's history. Reed finished the 100-meter dash in eighth place, clocking 10.88 seconds, ranking ninth in the program's top ten times. Additionally, Reed took fourth in the 200-meter dash and moved to ninth in the program's top ten finishes.
Meanwhile, in St. Louis, Missouri, the distance runners saw success against top runners.
Braden Nicholson, the indoor 3,000-meter national champion, finished the 10,000-meter run in second place (29:18.44). Nicholson's time places fifth in program history.
BJ Sorg finished the run at No. 14, clocking a time of 29:54.20. Also running the 10,000-meter run was freshman
Oscar Frontjes. Frontjes set a new freshman record with his time of 30:32.42. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase,
Luke Hoffmann finished at No. 26 place (9:36.43).
North Central will be on the road next weekend, Apr. 4 and Apr. 5, for the Chicagoland Outdoor Championships hosted by Elmhurst University.
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