Contact:
Taiah Gallisath-Poklop, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
Oct. 9, 2026 – The North Central College men's cross country team climbed four spots to No. 11 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national rankings after a strong performance at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic. The Cardinals also rank 11
th in the D3 Glory Days poll.
North Central turned in a third-place team finish at the Greater Louisville Classic, competing against runners from all divisions as nearly every Cardinal recorded a personal best. Leading the way,
BJ Sorg posted a personal-best time of 23:59.9, placing himself among the elite performers in North Central program history.
Daniel Kasperan's dropped nearly a minute off of his personal best time to finish 15th (24:16.2) and earned College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Runner of the Week.
According to the USTFCCCA Cross Country Rating Index (XCRI), Sorg ranks 10
th individually while Kasperan came in at No. 21.
Following the annual Division III Pre-Nationals weekend, Wartburg College has surged into the top spot of the USTFCCCA national rankings followed by SUNY Geneseo and Johns Hopkins University. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse dropped into the No. 4 spot while New York University was slotted in at No 5.
The Cardinals are fourth in the regional rankings behind Wartburg, University of Chicago, and Washington University in St. Louis. Central College rounds out the Midwest Region's top-five.
In the D3 Glory Days national poll, SUNY Geneseo takes the top spot while NYU and Wartburg sit second and third, respectively. Johns Hopkins and UW-La Crosse make up the top-five.
North Central will take the weekend off before its next race on Saturday, Oct. 17 when the Cardinals compete at the Augustana Interregional Invitational in Rock Island, Ill.
