Luke Moran racing the 4x400m relay
©Steve Woltmann

Men's Track and Field

Men’s Track and Field Delivers Solid Showing in Home Opener

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

Results

Jan. 9, 2026 - The North Central College men's track and field team produced a successful home opener as the Cardinals came away with 11 event wins, 21 personal best marks, and two performances ranking in the top-10 in program history at the Cardinal Opener on Friday night at the Al B. Carius Track.

In the men's 60-meter dash, Alexander Knight entered the finals as the top seed after clocking a career-best time of 6.93 seconds in the preliminary round, a mark that ranks tied for 25th in Division III this season and sits fourth in program history all-time. Randy Reed, who entered finals as the No. 2 seed, turned in a 6.92-second time in the finals, just two hundredths of a second off from his career best time to claim the event win. Knight finished second overall with a 7.01 time in the final, while Dion'ta McDaniel posted a personal best of 7.04 seconds to finish third and tie for 10th on the program's all-time list.

Freshman Travis Hoffman claimed the 60-meter hurdles win in 8.64 seconds while teammate Luke Moran finished third in 9.77 seconds. Knight and Hoffman later met in the 200m, where Knight clocked the top-time of 22.69 seconds and Hoffman produced a third-place finish in 23.13 seconds. 

Jake Juneau opened his junior campaign with a first-place finish and personal best time of 50.80 in the 400m dash. Teammate Dakota White also notched a career best of 51.59 to take third overall in the event.

Racing for the first time in 2026 after beginning his season at an early meet back in December, Jacob Kluckhohn picked up the 800m win in a time of 2:06.27 with freshman Matt McKee trailing just behind in second at 2:06.75. Benicio Agostinelli took third after clocking a 2:14.05 time. Kluckhohn also raced the one mile, where he finished fourth (4:34.03).

Taking the one-mile win was senior Aidan Armstrong, who posted a 4:28.48 winning time after winning the 3,000m title at last year's Cardinal Opener. Finishing in second was freshman Jack Galminas in a time of 4:30.73, while sophomore Ari Elmayan ran a nearly 25-second personal best to finish third (4:33.10). 

Sophomore Austin Wesley secured the 3,000m win after cutting almost 10 seconds off his career best, crossing the finish line in 8:53.62. The runner-up finish went to fellow sophomore Tyler Schick, who turned in an 8:56.11 time. 

A trio of Cardinal distance medley relays went head-to-head with the quartet of Owen Dare, Bernard Fellows Jr., Benicio Agostinelli, and Daniel Kasperan taking the top time in 10:40.53. The 4-by-400m relay of Grant Bond, Gabe Parker, Keydric Fulton-Wilson, and Randy Reed raced only the clock and posted a time of 3:31.72. Earlier in the night, Parker won the pole vault with a 4.30m (14'1.25") clearance, with freshman Bobby Guetthoff taking second with a 3.95m (12'11.50") make. Jacob Ahlberg was third after a 3.35m (10'11.75') clearance.

The high jump consisted of five Cardinals and one lone Lawrence jumper as senior Cole Oleson secured the event win with a 1.99m (6'6.25") clearance, a mark that sits 17th in Division III this season. Isaiah Shepard took third with a 1.78m (5'10") first-attempt clearance.

Luke Hemmersmeier claimed a second-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 6.52m (21'4.75") while Jayden Leise's 6.40m (21'0") jump earned him third. Leise came back later with a season-best jump of 14.31m (46'11.50") in the triple jump, a mark that currently sits 13th nationally. Sophomore Brandon Woods landed a third-place finish with a 12.58m (41'3.25") jump.

Junior Ben Balboa threw a season best of 15.56m (51'0.75") in the shot put to snag the event win and rank 23rd nationally, as Daniel Dominguez (14.34m, 47'0.75") and Gavin McAlister (13.97m, 45'10") finished second and third, respectively. In the weight throw, McAlister had the top throw for the Cardinals, notching a 14.91m (48'11") to take second overall while Balboa secured third with a 14.64m (48'0.50") throw. 

North Central is set to host again next Saturday, Jan. 17 for the Pat Heenan Invitational. Competition is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start. 
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Players Mentioned

Benicio Agostinelli

Benicio Agostinelli

Distance
Junior
Jacob Ahlberg

Jacob Ahlberg

Multi-Events
Senior
Aidan Armstrong

Aidan Armstrong

Distance
Junior
Ben Balboa

Ben Balboa

Throws
Sophomore
Owen Dare

Owen Dare

Distance
Junior
Daniel Dominguez

Daniel Dominguez

Throws
Junior
Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Sprints
Sophomore
Luke Hemmersmeier

Luke Hemmersmeier

Jumps
Sophomore
Jake Juneau

Jake Juneau

Sprints
Sophomore
Jayden Leise

Jayden Leise

Jumps
Sophomore
Gavin McAlister

Gavin McAlister

Throws
Junior
Luke Moran

Luke Moran

Hurdles
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Benicio Agostinelli

Benicio Agostinelli

Junior
Distance
Jacob Ahlberg

Jacob Ahlberg

Senior
Multi-Events
Aidan Armstrong

Aidan Armstrong

Junior
Distance
Ben Balboa

Ben Balboa

Sophomore
Throws
Owen Dare

Owen Dare

Junior
Distance
Daniel Dominguez

Daniel Dominguez

Junior
Throws
Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Keydric Fulton-Wilson

Sophomore
Sprints
Luke Hemmersmeier

Luke Hemmersmeier

Sophomore
Jumps
Jake Juneau

Jake Juneau

Sophomore
Sprints
Jayden Leise

Jayden Leise

Sophomore
Jumps
Gavin McAlister

Gavin McAlister

Junior
Throws
Luke Moran

Luke Moran

Sophomore
Hurdles