FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
2010 Outdoor National Qualifiers
Official Championships Website
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.
The Cardinals have a total of 13 entries in seven events this weekend, including three that won indoor national championships this past March. 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.
North Central will have three other vaulters in the competition, as Thomas Stacey is seeded fifth (16'7 1/2"), John Wood is seeded seventh (16'5 1/4"), and Steven Stack is tied for 13th (16'0"). Stacey and Stack were among five vaulters to have earned their qualifying mark last week. Wood is participating in his fourth national meet, and is looking to add an outdoor All-America certificate to the two he already possesses indoors. Stacey placed third at the indoor national championships this season to receive All-America honors for the first time, while Stack will be making his first appearance in a national meet.
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, 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). Jesse Faller of Tufts University (Mass.) has the fastest time in the 5,000 (14:17.10) and Daniel Merner of Amherst College (Mass.) has the top mark in the 10,000 (29:45.02).
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. Wheaton College (Mass.) has the top time in the nation this outdoor season (3:11.18).
North Central will have three additional competitors in the distance events. Jacob Austin, who earned All-America honors in the 800 meters indoors, has qualified as one of the 15 competitors in the 1,500-meter run. His time of 3:51.43, posted at North Central's Dr. Keeler Invitational on May 14, ranks 12th in the field.
Sean Carlson and Christopher Kane, meanwhile, both turned in substantial personal bests in the past two weeks to qualify in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Carlson dropped more than 20 seconds from his previous best effort at the Dr. Keeler Invitational, turning in a time of 9:06.99 to rank fifth among all Division III competitors. Carlson was an All-American in cross country last fall and won the steeplechase at the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championships. Kane, meanwhile, also chopped more than 20 seconds off his personal best, running 9:09.69 in last week's Gregory Invitational to punch his ticket to the national meet. He ranks 14th among the 16 entrants.
Also competing in his first outdoor national championships is Matthew Borchardt, who is among eight individuals tied for 10th in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 6'8 3/4" achieved at the Benedictine University Twilight Invitational on Apr. 30. Borchardt was an All-American in the indoor pentathlon this season.
This year's national championships, co-hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, will be contested at Baldwin-Wallace's Tressel Field at Finnie Stadium in Berea, Ohio. The meeet will run from Thursday to Saturday. Daily updates will be posted to northcentralcardinals.com, and results will be posted live at raceberryjam.com.
