Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
GENEVA, Ohio (May 24, 2025) - The North Central College men's track and field team saw their first National Champion of the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championship since 2021, with
Braden Nicholson crowned the National Champion in the 10,000-meter run.
On Thursday night, Nicholson started the weekend with a bang for the Cardinals. Nicholson earned his second National Championship title of the year, this time in the 10,000-meter race. Nicholson clocked a 29:20.59 finish, but he was not originally the obvious winner. He finished in second-place but was ultimately bumped to first after a disqualification of the originally named first place runner. Additionally,
BJ Sorg took No. 12 in the run, posting a time of 30:17.57.
Two days later, on Saturday, Nicholson took on tough competition in the 5,000-meter run. Nicholson kept his pace, working through the pack. Sitting at No. 18 at the 2,200-meter split, he worked his way to tenth by the 2,600-meter split. With just 200 meters left, Nicholson was in second; however, the final burst of energy pushed him to sixth. Nicholson earned a sixth-place finish and All-American honors, submitting a time of 14:16.83.
Kamil Kokot was the lone Cardinal to compete on Friday, submitting a 14.95-second finish for No. 17 in the 110-meter hurdles. Kokot finished five seeds ahead of his qualifying mark.
Jayden Leise ended in No. 20 in the triple jump with a mark of 13.94 meters (45'8.5"), which was one rank higher than he entered the Championships.
Anthony Zajac was also in the field for North Central on Friday. He took No. 19 in the hammer throw with a toss marking 54.06 meters (177'4").
As a team, North Central ended the Championships tied for No. 17 with 10 points.
The Cardinals will have to say a heartfelt goodbye to many impactful seniors, including Nicholson, the 2025 10,000-meter Outdoor and 3,000-meter National Champion.
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