FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Results

Mar. 4, 2011-- The North Central College men's track & field team improved or added seven NCAA Division III qualifying marks on Friday at the NCC Last Chance Qualifier at the Al B. Carius Track, including automatic qualifying performances from Robert Kapustka and Jon Howard.

In total 10 provisional or automatic qualifying marks were met at the unscored meet that served as a final tune-up before next weekend's NCAA Division III National Championships.

Kapustka improved his automatic qualifying mark in the weight throw, placing second with a school record-breaking toss of 62 feet, 1 inch. The junior went on to hit the provisional qualifying standard in the shot put, winning the event with a throw of 51' 4 1/2".

Accounting for the night's other automatic qualifying performance was Howard who sprinted to a second place showing in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish in 48.72. Teammate Randal Ellison added his name to the national list with a third place showing in the 400, clocking a 49.55.

The top-ranked Cardinals continued to showcase their pole vaulting talent, sweeping the top three spots. Peter Geraghty and Josh Winder tied for first with a provisional qualifying clearance of 16' 8 3/4" while Thomas Stacey improved his standing on the national list with a provisional qualifying vault of 16' 6".

In the mile, Michael Spain raced to a second place finish, improving his provisional qualifying time by clocking a 4:12.26 while Matthew Brinkmeier added his name to the national list after placing fourth in 4:14.07.

Closing out the night was the 4x400-meter relay squad of Daniel Benton, Bai Kabba, Jon Caron and Howard, establishing a new facility record and improving their provisional qualifying time by cruising to the victory in 3:17.73.

Other notable performances of the night included Kabba winning the 200-meter dash (22.46), Nathan Warstler finishing as the top collegian in the 5,000-meters (14:53.85) and the distance medley relay squad of Mitch Gilbert, Dionte Hackler, Marlen Hamilton and John Crain establishing a new freshman record after placing third in 10:13.44.

North Central returns to the track on Friday for day one of the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio where the Cardinals will look to secure their second straight national title.