North Central Sports: Cardinals Clean Up at Weekend Track and Field Meets

Submitted by North Central College

Women's Track

The North Central College women's track and field team bested a pair of top-10 ranked programs Saturday at the Washington University Select Meet, winning four events and topping the nine-team field.

The Cardinals totaled 114 points, outdistancing the seventh-ranked hosts by four points. Ninth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University placed third with 107.5 points.

North Central took the top two spots in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as Alicia Zimmerman claimed the win (11:24.40) and Amanda Marek followed in second place (11:42.13). The Cardinals also scored a win in the 1,500-meter run, asKrista Cota won in a personal-best time of 4:42.76.

Brianna Tolliver claimed first place in the javelin throw (129'11") and Amanda Coglianese finished first in the 400-meter hurdles (1:04.01), posting the third-fastest time in school history.

Elizabeth Composto finished second in the long jump (16'6") and third in the pole vault (12'0 1/2"), Ebony Stallworth was third in the shot put (40'3 1/4") and Brooke Patterson took third in the triple jump (36'0"). Coglianese, Cota, Monique DeCapand Kala Bingham teamed up to place third in the 4x400-meter relay (3:59.20).

The Cardinals also sent a contingent of athletes to the Chicagoland Outdoor Championships at the University of Chicago. North Central's top finisher wasKelsey Truedson, who cleared 10'0" to finish third in the pole vault.

North Central travels to the Wheaton College Twilight Meet on Saturday, with competition scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Men's Track

Crowning four individual champions and placing at least three athletes in the scoring in five events, the North Central College men's track and field team encountered little resistance in securing the team title at the Chicagoland Outdoor Championships, separating itself from the rest of the 18-team field early at the University of Chicago.

The fourth-ranked Cardinals totaled 204 points, well clear of runner-up DePaul University's total of 124 and nearly triple the total of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) rival Carthage College, which placed third with 73.

North Central's John Wood won the pole vault, with teammates Josh Winder andFrank Wleklinski placing second and third, respectively. Wood and Winder both cleared 16 feet, 4 3/4 inches, while Wleklinski cleared 15'5". The Cardinals also got first-place finishes from Zach Heerspink in the high jump (6'8 3/4"), Joseph Hletko in the decathlon (5,443 points) and Jon Howard in the 400-meter hurdles (53.82).

Joey Michals followed Howard across the line to place second in the 400 hurdles (54.39), while Heerspink also turned in a third-place effort in the long jump (22'10"). Other second-place finishes came from Robert Kapustka in the hammer throw (168'7"), Bai Kabba in the 400-meter dash (48.53), Travis Morrison in the 5,000-meter run (15:07.38) and Jordan Kremer in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:26.99). Roger Klein finished third in the 5,000 (15:07.74), as did Yonatan Mascote in the steeplechase (9:28.43).

The Cardinals came in second in a pair of relays, as Matt Souvannasing, Jon Caron, Michael Reasner and Donald Smith were clocked in 43.08 seconds in the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-relay quartet of Caron, Kabba, Howard andDionte Hackler finished in 3:15.25. North Central's 4x800-meter relay team ofJuliano Lodi, Zach Dougherty, Richard Ruske and Ryan Bartell finished third in 8:01.39.

North Central travels to the Wheaton College Twilight Meet on Saturday. Competition is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.