Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302. Story written by Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Feb. 20, 2026) – The North Central College men's track and field team once again turned in an impressive performance in the mile and the 3,000 meters, as the Cardinals had five top-three finishers between the two events at the F. Lee Slick Track & Field Invitational held inside the Wilde Res/Rec Center at Al B. Carius Track on Friday night. The meet was the final tune-up for the Cardinals before next week's College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Indoor Championships.
The Cardinals dominated the mile with a sweep of the podium. BJ Sorg turned in his best mile of the season by nearly four seconds (4:14.76) to claim first. Aidan Armstrong followed close behind in second with a time of 4:15.67, while Jack Galminas claimed third with a season best of his own (4:23.57).
North Central claimed two top-three finishes in the 3,000-meter race. Ricky Klein posted a season-best 8:57.80 to take first in the event, while Koen McMillan came in at 9:00.68 to earn third.
In the 60-meter hurdles, the Cardinals had four athletes qualify for the final: Travis Hoffman (8.63 preliminary), Christian Kokot (8.61 preliminary), Daniel Nwatu (8.77 preliminary) and Giovanny Hernandez (9.18 preliminary). In the final heat, the Cardinals took second, third and fourth. Kokot took second with a season best (8.40), Nwatu took third with a season-best 8.49 and Hoffman finished fourth with an 8.51 season best. Hernandez improved upon his qualifying time, turning in a sub-nine-second race to finish eighth in the field with a new season best (8.99). Kokot's performance is the fifth-fastest indoor 60-meter hurdle time in program history.
Eight different student-athletes set new season bests in the 60-meter event. Evan Keil (7.26), Daniel Nwatu (7.26), Jahron Williams (7.29), Nate Williams (7.38), Nicolas Chavez (7.36), Cole Bradshaw (7.18), Matt Lewis (7.04), Prentice Myles (7.05) and Alexander Knight (6.89) all improved their season bests in their respective preliminary heats. Knight's time also tied for the fourth-fastest indoor 60-meter time with Danny Eloe, who set his mark earlier this season.
Knight's time was the fastest in the preliminary heats, sending him into the final. He was joined by Lewis and Myles, who finished one-hundredth of a second apart in their preliminary race. In the final, Knight improved his time by two-hundredths of a second, claiming second in the event. Lewis and Myles also improved their marks, as both broke seven seconds for the first time this season. Lewis turned in a 6.98 (fourth), while Myles followed closely behind with a 6.99 (fifth). Knight now stands alone with the third-fastest indoor 60-meter time in program history, while Lewis and Myles also cracked the top 10 at ninth and tied for 10th, respectively.
Four Cardinals cracked the top 10 in the 400-meter event. Alex Moos claimed fourth with a season-best 51.87, Arturo Martinez finished fifth with a time of 52.36 and Will Splant turned in a season-best 52.37, good for sixth. Drew Patterson and Grant Bond tied for eighth with a time of 52.57. It was Bond's season best in the 400-meter event.
Tyler Schick clocked a 2:01.44 in the 800-meter race, finishing fourth. Micah Mendoza turned in a season-best 2:02.02 (sixth), while Carter Simmons finished 10th with a time of 2:03.18.
In the 200-meter dash, two Cardinals set season bests. Jake Juneau set a season and personal best with a time of 22.84, placing fourth, while Splant turned in a season-best 23.73. Aiden Fladeland finished 10th with a time of 23.27.
Michael Robinson was the Cardinals' top finisher in the long jump, finishing 10th with a 6.29-meter (20-7.64) jump. Robinson carried that success into the triple jump, where he finished fourth with a 12.48-meter (41-11.94) jump. Ben Balboa also found success in the shot put, finishing second with a 15.50-meter (50-10.23) throw.
Isaiah Shepard was North Central's top finisher in the high jump, posting a 1.80-meter (5-10.87) jump.
Gabriel Parker earned a fourth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 4.26 meters (13-11.72). Freshman Bobby Guetthoff rounded out the top five with a vault of 4.11 meters (13-5.81).
North Central saw two student-athletes earn top-five finishes in the weight throw: Balboa finished third with a 15.40-meter (50-6.3) throw, while Gavin McAlister finished fifth with a 15.06-meter (49-4.91) throw. McAlister also placed fourth in the shot put with a 14.68-meter (48-1.95) throw. Martin Donahue matched McAlister's mark of 14.68 meters to tie for fourth.
The Cardinals will compete for an indoor conference title next Friday and Saturday at the CCIW Indoor Championships hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University inside the Shirk Center.
