Women's Track and Field Team Photo At 2026 CCIW Championships
©Steve Woltmann

Women's Track and Field

Four Cardinals Crowned Champions, Women’s Track Takes 2nd

KENOSHA, Wis. (May 2, 2026) - Two days of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin action concluded Saturday evening as the North Central College women's track and field team secured a second place team finish highlighted by four event wins across multiple event categories. 

North Central totaled 128 points to finish runner-up behind Elmhurst University's 142. Illinois Wesleyan University took third with 121.5 points and Wheaton College (116) and Augustana College (112) rounded out the top five teams. Freshman Dylan Moeller was voted the CCIW Track Newcomer of the Meet after earning All-CCIW honors and placing in the top-three in each of her four events. Macy Fluery was recognized as North Central's CCIW RESPECT Award recipient.

Gwen Berenyi took home her second CCIW outdoor pole vault title of her career with a first attempt clearance at 3.96m (12'11.75). Caroline Kuttner joined her with All-CCIW honors after a 3.51m (11'6.25") clearance to finish fourth overall. 

In the heptathlon, Isabella Valentin sat first heading into day two, having won three of the four events on day one. Valentin clocked a 15.24 to win the 100m hurdles before throwing a huge personal best in the shot put at 9.46m (31'0.50"), an entire foot further than the next heptathlete. She won the 200m in a time of 26.59 seconds and she finished tied for second in the high jump with a 1.52m (4'11.75") clearance, both new personal bests for the sophomore. On day two, Valentin recorded a 5.16m (16'11.25") for third in the long jump, before notching the win in javelin (28.16m, 92'4") and finishing ninth in the 800m (2:47.11). Valen won her first CCIW heptathlon title with 4,376 points, a mark that moves her up to third in program history. 

Valentin also ran the open 100m hurdles, earning a spot in the finals alongside Julia Kelly and Charlotte Rossi. Valentin finished third overall in 15.50 seconds while Kelly was sixth at 15.96, and Rossi was seventh at 16.25. 

The 4-by-400m relay squad of Kate Schmidthuber, Cire Smith, Alivia Henkel and Cali Minkie won the CCIW title in a time of 3:56.06, nearly four seconds fastest than the next relay team. Minkie and Henkel also ran on the third-place 4-by-100m relay team alongside Zara Uvakova and Elianna Keyes (48.76). 

Henkel picked up her second straight 400m hurdle conference title clocking a time of 1:01.19 to finish four seconds ahead of the rest of the field. She sits third in Cardinal history with the time and ranks seventh in Division III, Ellie Logsden also turned in an All-CCIW finish in the hurdles with a sixth place finish (1:08.82). 

Minkie and Schmidthuber also earned All-CCIW honors in the 400m with fourth (59.04) and seventh (1:00.61) place finishes, respectively. 

Dylan Moeller turned in a pair of top three finishes for the weekend. On Friday she produced a 10 second personal best in the 3,000m steeplechase clocking in at 11:03.73, a mark that moves her up to fourth in program history. She came back on Saturday and turned in a second place finish in the 1,500m in a time of 4:44.81. Moeller also turned in a pair of third-place finishes in the 5,000m (18:25.74) and the 800m (2:18.79) to cap off her conference slate. 

Brianna Ruiz also claimed All-CCIW honors in the steeplechase with an eighth-place finish in a personal best time of 11:44.08 while Smith finished fifth in the 800m (2:21.73).

In the final event of Friday night, Lily Anderson notched a nearly full minute personal best of 37:51.10 in the 10,000m to take third place. With her time, Anderson cracks the program's top 10 list at ninth all-time. 

Yakyra Wilder moved up in the program's all-time list in the shot put on her way to an All-CCIW nod. Her throw of 12.53m (41'1.50") earned her a fifth-place finish and moved her up to fourth in program history. She also earned All-CCIW in the discus throw with a seventh place finish (36.94m, 121'2").

Jillian Beneke and Abigail Davidson notched a pair of All-CCIW finishes in the javelin, as Beneke finished sixth with a 33.34m (109'4") toss and Davidson was eighth on a 31.57m (103'7") throw.


The Cardinals landed two on the All-CCIW list in the triple jump with Leona Agyemand finishing fifth with an 11.33m (37'2.25"), a mark that moves her up to tie for seventh in program history, while Elianna Keyes finished seventh with an 11.16m (36'7.50") jump. Keyes also earned All-CCIW honors with a pair of eighth place finishes in the 100m dash (12.85) and the 200m dash (26.61). In the long jump, Lucia Sanchez Scriven picked up All-CCIW honors on a 5.20m (17'0.75") jump to place eighth.

North Central turns its attention to last chance qualifier meets over the next two weeks with the first set for May 8-9 at the Augustana Penultimate Qualifier in Rock Island, Ill.
 
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Players Mentioned

Lily Anderson

Lily Anderson

Distance
Sophomore
Gwen Berenyi

Gwen Berenyi

Pole Vault
Junior
Cali Minkie

Cali Minkie

Sprints/Jumps
Senior
Jillian Beneke

Jillian Beneke

Pole Vault
Freshman
Alivia Henkel

Alivia Henkel

Sprints/Hurdles
Freshman
Elianna Keyes

Elianna Keyes

Jumps
Freshman
Charlotte Rossi

Charlotte Rossi

Hurdles
Freshman
Brianna Ruiz

Brianna Ruiz

Freshman
Zara Uvakova

Zara Uvakova

Sprints
Junior
Isabella Valentin

Isabella Valentin

Hurdles/Jumps
Freshman
Dylan Moeller

Dylan Moeller

Distance
Freshman
Julia Kelly

Julia Kelly

Jumps/Hurdles
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Lily Anderson

Lily Anderson

Sophomore
Distance
Gwen Berenyi

Gwen Berenyi

Junior
Pole Vault
Cali Minkie

Cali Minkie

Senior
Sprints/Jumps
Jillian Beneke

Jillian Beneke

Freshman
Pole Vault
Alivia Henkel

Alivia Henkel

Freshman
Sprints/Hurdles
Elianna Keyes

Elianna Keyes

Freshman
Jumps
Charlotte Rossi

Charlotte Rossi

Freshman
Hurdles
Brianna Ruiz

Brianna Ruiz

Freshman
Zara Uvakova

Zara Uvakova

Junior
Sprints
Isabella Valentin

Isabella Valentin

Freshman
Hurdles/Jumps
Dylan Moeller

Dylan Moeller

Freshman
Distance
Julia Kelly

Julia Kelly

Freshman
Jumps/Hurdles