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NCAA Division III Indoor Championship Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Mar. 11, 2011)-- The North Central College men's track & field team trails the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh by one point after day one competition at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships on Friday at the Capital Center after five athletes earned All-American honors.

The Titans amassed 24 points through five events with the Cardinals tallying 23. Central College (Iowa) is third with 18 points while the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is fourth with 15 points.

The pole vault highlighted day one for the top-ranked Cardinals as three vaulters earned All-American honors. After missing his first attempt of the day at 15 feet, 11 inches, Peter Geraghty went on to clear six of his next seven jumps, eventually clearing 17' 5 1/2", tying national champion Craig Van Leeuwen of Ramapo College but placing second due to more missed attempts. It was the sophomore's second indoor All-American accolade after placing eighth in 2010.

"The competition was amazing," said Geraghty. "It's a huge confidence builder when your teammates are with you. John Wood, Josh Winder and Thomas Stacey, we all live in the same house, we all compete at the same meets and we are all training at the same level. It really helps with your performance."

Thomas Stacey was fourth, earning his second All-American honor after clearing 17' 1 1/2" on his final attempt. Josh Winder made his debut at nationals by placing seventh with a vault of 16' 9 1/2" to secure All-America status while John Wood was ninth with a mark of 15' 11 3/4", getting edged for eighth by Nebraska Wesleyan University's Jay Wall who finished with less misses.

Zachariah Heerspink opened up the afternoon for the Cardinals in the high jump, clearing 6' 6 3/4” to finish in a three-way tie for sixth, earning All-American honors for the first time in his career.

North Central recorded its second All-American of the day courtesy of Robert Kapustka in the weight throw. Seeded ninth heading into the event, the junior uncorked a season-best and school record toss of 63' 6" in the preliminaries to finish third to collect his first career All-America certificate.

Daniel Benton and Jon Howard both advanced to Saturday's finals in the 400-meter dash. Benton, the 2010 runner-up, heads into the finals with the second fastest time after clocking a 48.78, winning his heat after passing University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Paul Yerhot with 100 meters to go. Howard earns a spot in the finals after placing second in his heat, finishing the two-lap race in 49.43.

“We had a great start, beginning with the high jump. Those vertical jumps you never know what's going to happen,” said head coach Frank Gramarosso. “The vault's always been great for us but it was tough, tough competition today. We're on our way to having a great meet.”

The defending national champion Cardinals return to action at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Saturday when Matt Borchardt competes in the pentathlon.