North Central College aims for historic sweep of Division III track titles
Press Release
May 24, 2010
Opportunities to achieve firsts in the storied history of the
North Central College men's track and field program are rare, but 14
individuals will have the chance to take their place among the
Cardinals' trail blazers at this weekend's NCAA Division III Outdoor
National Championships.
In addition to the pursuit of the program's first outdoor national
championship since 2000, its fifth outdoor title overall, and the
College's 25th national crown, the Cardinals' delegation to this
weekend's meet will have the opportunity to secure North
Central's first-ever sweep of the Division III cross country, indoor
track and outdoor track titles in the same academic year. The feat has occurred just one previous time, accomplished by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2005-06.
"Quite frankly, it's amazing, when you think about how tough it is to even get to the national championships," said head coach Al Carius about his squad's chance to complete the historic triple crown. "We've
had some guys who have worked really hard and improved the past few
weeks. We've had many, many personal bests and really took advantage of
the opportunity to have the past two meets at home.
"I feel a real sense of pride in the efforts of our team.
They've been very resilient and have been able to keep very strong
momentum. Whatever happens, I'm proud of us getting to this point."
The Cardinals have a total of 13 entries in seven events this
weekend, including three that won indoor national championships this
past March. Senior Jake Winder, the two-time defending national indoor
pole vault champion, will attempt to pursue his first outdoor crown in
his final collegiate meet. With an outdoor personal best of 18 feet,
1/2 inch, achieved at the Chicagoland Outdoor Championships on Apr. 10,
Winder has the top mark in the 15-competitor field by nearly a foot.
Winder is one of four North Central vaulters in the competition.
The pole vault could be a pivotal event in determining this year's
team national champion, as the Cardinals' chief competitor, McMurry
University (Tex.), also has four entrants. McMurry has been ranked No.
1 nationally the entire outdoor season, while North Central has
occupied the No. 2 spot the past several weeks.
The indoor national champion in the 5,000-meter run, senior Kyle
Brady, will compete in two events for the Cardinals this weekend,
having qualified with the seventh-fastest time in the outdoor 5,000
(14:27.31) and the fourth-best mark in the 10,000-meter run (30:06.13).
He will be joined in both events by teammate Michael Spain, who is
seeded fourth in the 5,000 (14:24.34) and fifth in the 10,000
(30:09.52). Brady, who placed fifth in the 10,000 and sixth in the
5,000 at the 2009 outdoor championships, will be seeking his fifth
All-America certificate on the track, who placed sixth in the 10,000
last season and was the national runner-up in cross country this past
fall, also earned All-America honors at the 2009 indoor championships
in the 5,000.
The Cardinals will also seek to defend their indoor national title
in the 4-by-400-meter relay. The quartet of Jonathan Caron, Cambron
Culpepper, Dayton Henriksen and Jon Howard turned in a time of 3:13.43
at the Gregory Invitational last weekend to qualify as the
fourth-fastest squad in the 16-team event. North Central was seeded
sixth prior to the indoor national championships.
North Central will also have competitors in the 1,500-meter run, 3,000-meter steeplechase and high jump events this weekend.
Requests for interviews, photos and/or video are welcome will be
met promptly by North Central College Sports Information Director Clark
Teuscher. Please call (630) 637-5302 or e-mail ccteuscher@noctrl.edu to make such arrangements.
|
|
|
Runner's World &
Running Times
Combined Only $22
a Year
Save $87
Running & Track and Field Posters
Great Running Shoe Deals Nike Lunar Glide $79.99 A very popular innovative Nike shoe on sale now.