Kamil Kokot wins the 60m hurdles at Pat Heenan Invite
Mark Black

Men's Track and Field

Cardinals Climb in National Performance List at Pat Heenan Invite

Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302

Results

Jan. 17, 2026 - The North Central College men's track and field team came away with five first-place finishes and a slew of top-50 marks in the Division III national performance list at the Pat Heenan Invite on Saturday, Jan. 17. 

North Central landed five Cardinals in the 60-meter hurdles finals after posting the top four times in the preliminary round. Kamil Kokot led the way with a season-opening time of 8.51 seconds followed by Matthew Vergamini (8.66), Christian Kokot (8.70) and Travis Hoffman (8.72) while Daniel Nwatu snagged the final spot into finals with a 9.02-second effort. K. Kokot ultimately won the race in an 8.46 second effort, with Hoffman finishing second in 8.67 seconds. C. Kokot rounded out the top-five in 8.79 seconds, while Vergamini was seventh in 8.89 seconds and Nwatu was eighth with a personal best time of 8.94 seconds.

BJ Sorg cruised to a win in the 5,000m run, posting the top time of 14:46.27. Oscar Frontjes and Jacob Kluckhohn maintained the second- and third-place positions the whole way with Frontjes finding a new gear with three laps to go to close out a personal best time of 14:48.21to sit 14th nationally. Kluckhohn was not far behind, also finishing in a personal best of 14:53.23 and ranks 17th in Division III this season.

North Central swept the top three places of the 800m run with freshman Drew Patterson picking up the win in 1:58.31. Dakota White was not far behind in second at 1:59.54 with Owen Dare coming in third at 2:00.33. 

Jayden Leise improved his season best mark in the triple jump to 14.34m (47'0.50") on his last jump in the finals. Leise was the only competitor to secure a mark over 14 meters as the junior won the meet by over a foot and currently sits 15th in Division III this season.


North Central's last first-place finish came in the final event of the day when the 4-by-400m relay squad of Will Splant, Dakota White, Keydric Fulton-Wilson, and Drew Patterson fought a closely contested race and posted a 3:32.09 to win the event. 

The 60m dash featured nearly 80 competitors on the men's side with three Cardinals advancing to finals. Randy Reed ran 6.93 seconds in the preliminary rounds to have the third-fastest time heading into finals while Danny Eloe clocked a new career best of 6.95 seconds to sit fifth and Zach Anderson was seventh out of prelims with a 7.02. Eloe's mark moved him into the No. 5 spot on the program's all-time list. In the finals, Reed clocked a 6.88 second effort to finish third in the field. His new mark ranks second all-time for North Central and 21st nationally. Anderson turned in a 7.04 in the final to finish seventh.

An incredible day for Reed continued into the 200m when he clocked a 22.0 second effort to finish as the runner-up out of 60 competitors. Reed's time is an indoor best for the senior and moves him up to No. 3 in program history and ranks sixth in Division III this season. 

In the high jump, freshman Luke Aaen cleared a personal best bar of 1.85-meters (6'0.75") on his first attempt to finish third in the field. Fellow freshman, Gabriel Steele had a first-attempt clearance at 1.80m (5'10.75") to finish just behind Aaen in fourth. 

Over in the pole vault, Gabe Parker bounced back after needing his third attempt on his opening bar and managed to secure first attempt clearances at his next two bars. He ultimately finished second with a 4.30m (14'1.25") jump. Grant Sarris finished fourth in the vault with a 4.20m (13'0.25") make.

A season best throw of 15.95m (52'4") for Ben Balboa on his final attempt of the shot put earned him a second-place finish overall, but was the top collegiate finisher in the field. Balboa's throw currently ranks 24th in Division III. Gavin McAlister tied his season best of 14.30m (46'11") to take fourth while Daniel Dominguez was fifth with his 14.08m (46'2.25") throw. 

McAlister also posted a third-place finish in the weight throw after turning in a season-best throw of 15.65m (51'4.25"). Freshman Riley Adams had a personal best throw of 14.60m (47'11") for fourth while Dominguez notched a season best of 14.43m (47'4.25") for fourth. 

In the 3,000m, Luke Cerwin turned in a personal best time of 9:00.09 to place third overall in the 18-person field. Also turning in top-five finishes was Alex Moos in the 400m in a time of 52.95 seconds and Luke Hemmersmeier in the long jump with a season best jump of 6.75m (22'1.75").

North Central is set to travel to Chicago, Ill. for the Aurora Grand Prix next Saturday, Jan. 24. Aurora University will serve as the meet host at the Gately Indoor Track & Field with competition slated for an 11 a.m. start.
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Players Mentioned

Zach Anderson

Zach Anderson

Sprints
Sophomore
Ben Balboa

Ben Balboa

Throws
Sophomore
Luke Cerwin

Luke Cerwin

Distance
Senior
Owen Dare

Owen Dare

Distance
Junior
Daniel Dominguez

Daniel Dominguez

Throws
Junior
Danny Eloe

Danny Eloe

Sprints
Sophomore
Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Sprints
Sophomore
Luke Hemmersmeier

Luke Hemmersmeier

Jumps
Sophomore
Jayden Leise

Jayden Leise

Jumps
Sophomore
Gavin McAlister

Gavin McAlister

Throws
Junior
Grant Sarris

Grant Sarris

Pole Vault
Sophomore
BJ Sorg

BJ Sorg

Distance
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Zach Anderson

Zach Anderson

Sophomore
Sprints
Ben Balboa

Ben Balboa

Sophomore
Throws
Luke Cerwin

Luke Cerwin

Senior
Distance
Owen Dare

Owen Dare

Junior
Distance
Daniel Dominguez

Daniel Dominguez

Junior
Throws
Danny Eloe

Danny Eloe

Sophomore
Sprints
Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Sophomore
Sprints
Luke Hemmersmeier

Luke Hemmersmeier

Sophomore
Jumps
Jayden Leise

Jayden Leise

Sophomore
Jumps
Gavin McAlister

Gavin McAlister

Junior
Throws
Grant Sarris

Grant Sarris

Sophomore
Pole Vault
BJ Sorg

BJ Sorg

Sophomore
Distance