Roundup: NCC men’s track holds No. 4 ranking
FROM STAFF REPORTS February 27, 2013 11:30AM
Updated: April 2, 2013 6:08AM
MEN’S TRACK
Cardinals hold No. 4 ranking— North Central continues to be ranked No. 4 in the most recent NCAA Division III National Team Computer Rankings, released Wednesday by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Winners of the last three NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships, the Cardinals won their 13th straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Indoor Championship on Saturday, scoring 250 points to finish well ahead of the rest of the field. North Central claimed individual CCIW titles in six events.
The Cardinals currently have the two top-ranked pole vaulters in Division III in Peter Geraghty (17-feet-3/4 inch) and Josh Winder (16-6 3/4), though Geraghty will miss the remainder of the indoor season due to injury.
Distance runner John Crain ranks second nationally in the 5,000-meter run (14:24.22), while Dionte Hackler ranks eighth in the 400-meter dash (49.28). North Central’s distance medley relay team currently sits second (9:58.89) and the Cardinals’ 4x400-meter relay team ranks eighth (3:19.05). Winder is the defending indoor national champion in the pole vault, and the Cardinals also won the 4x400 relay at last year’s Division III national meet.
Wisconsin-La Crosse remains the nation’s No. 1 team this week, receiving 216.95 points. Wisconsin-Oshkosh is second with 185.32 points, while Wisconsin-Whitewater is third with 121.08. North Central has 112.22 points this week, while Wisconsin-Eau Claire is fifth with 102.17 points.
The Cardinals will travel to Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday for the Pointer Final Qualifier before hosting the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships March 8-9 at Al B. Carius Track.
WOMEN’S SOFTBALL
Masini earns CCIW honors— Elmhurst’s Bella Masini and Carthage’s Krystina Leazer have been named the CCIW Softball Players of the Week. Masini, a sophomore infielder from Naperville North, batted .857 (6-for-7) with five runs, three RBI, a double and triple while slugging 1.286 during a pair of wins last week. She finished 3-for-3 with two singles and a triple during a 13-2 win over Knox on Feb. 16. She also scored three runs and had two RBI. In the Bluejays’ 8-3 win over Dominican later in the day, she finished 3-for-4 with two singles, a double, an RBI and also scored a pair of runs.
GIRLS SOCCER
Gorzak earns spot in national player pool — Alissa Gorzak of Naperville has been named to the U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team camp, running March 2-9 in Chula Vista, Calif.
Gorzak, a forward, was one of three players from the Eclipse Select Soccer Club to be named to the camp. Others were forward Zoe Redei of Highland Park and midfielder Ann Marie Niro of Barrington.
The camp, headed by new U-17 Women’s National Team head coach B.J. Snow, features 26 players who will work to earn a spot on the team for the 2014 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which will take place in Costa Rica in the spring of 2014.
