Men's Track races down the homestretch at Chicagoland Outdoor Championships
©Steve Woltmann

Men's Track and Field

North Central Closes Strong Two-Meet Weekend

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

Platteville Results
Chicagoland Results

ELMHURST, Ill. & PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (April 19-11, 2026) - The North Central College men's track and field team capped off another two-meet weekend on Saturday after three days of competition at the Chicagoland Outdoor Championships in Elmhurst, Ill., and a 5k showdown at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Invitational on Friday. 

Jayden Leise produced a third-place finish in the triple jump with a season-best leap of 14.42 meters (47'3.75"). His mark leads the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) by three inches and ranks 12th best in Division III this season. 

North Central had two Cardinals advance to the 100-meter dash finals, including Alexander Knight and Danny Eloe. Knight, who continues to improve his marks this season, clocked a 10.69-second effort to finish fourth in the field and move up to fifth in program history. After running a 10.96 in prelims, Eloe finished seventh overall with an 11.04 in finals. 

Similarly, in the 110m hurdles, a pair of Cardinals made it to the finals as Christian Kokot ultimately finished third in 15.24 seconds, while Daniel Nwatu was fourth in 15.34 seconds. 

In the discus throw, Ben Balboa notched a third-place finish with a 46.58m (152'10") throw in the 67-person field. Elsewhere in the field, Gabe Parker notched a fourth-place finish in the pole vault with a 4.18m (13'8.50") clearance. 

Parker later teamed up with Alex Moos, Jake Juneau, and Zach Anderson for a second-place finish in the 4-by-400m relay. The quarter posted a time of 3:21.17 to close out the meet, a time that ranks second-fastest in the CCIW so far this season. 

North Central also had a distance squad of 19 racing the 5,000m at the Platteville Invitational on Friday night, with Daniel Kasperan leading the way with a 26th-place finish in his first outdoor 5,000m. His time of 14:26.79 was 37 seconds faster than his indoor 5k time set in February. 

The Cardinals now turn their attention to their trip to Rock Island, Ill. next week for Augustana College's Meet of Champions, Friday and Saturday, April 17-18. 
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Players Mentioned

Zach Anderson

Zach Anderson

Sprints
Sophomore
Ben Balboa

Ben Balboa

Throws
Sophomore
Danny Eloe

Danny Eloe

Sprints
Sophomore
Jake Juneau

Jake Juneau

Sprints
Sophomore
Jayden Leise

Jayden Leise

Jumps
Sophomore
Alexander Knight

Alexander Knight

Sprints
Freshman
Daniel Nwatu

Daniel Nwatu

Hurdles
Freshman
Gabe Parker

Gabe Parker

Jumps/Sprints
Junior
Daniel Kasperan

Daniel Kasperan

Distance
Freshman
Christian Kokot

Christian Kokot

Hurdles
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Zach Anderson

Zach Anderson

Sophomore
Sprints
Ben Balboa

Ben Balboa

Sophomore
Throws
Danny Eloe

Danny Eloe

Sophomore
Sprints
Jake Juneau

Jake Juneau

Sophomore
Sprints
Jayden Leise

Jayden Leise

Sophomore
Jumps
Alexander Knight

Alexander Knight

Freshman
Sprints
Daniel Nwatu

Daniel Nwatu

Freshman
Hurdles
Gabe Parker

Gabe Parker

Junior
Jumps/Sprints
Daniel Kasperan

Daniel Kasperan

Freshman
Distance
Christian Kokot

Christian Kokot

Freshman
Hurdles