Roundup: North Central to defend indoor track title
FROM STAFF REPORTS March 4, 2013 8:06PM
MEN’S TRACK
Cardinals defending indoor title — North Central College will have eight entries in its arsenal as it prepares to go for a fourth straight team title at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. The Cardinals host the event at Al B. Carius Track for the first time this weekend.
The fourth-ranked Cardinals qualify at or near the top the field in two events. Pole vaulter Josh Winder (Plainfield Central), the defending Division III indoor national champion, shares the best mark in the field (16 feet, 6 3/4 inches) with Bryan Klister of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Distance runner John Crain (Dunlap) has a qualifying time of 14 minutes, 24.22 seconds in the 5,000-meter run and ranks behind only Chris Stadler of Haverford College (14:23.36).
North Central’s distance medley relay team of Juliano Lodi (Plainfield South), Dionte Hackler (Schaumburg), Marlen Hamilton (Hoffman Estates) and Crain has the fifth-fastest qualifying time at 9:58.89. Hackler and Hamilton will also compete in the 4-by-400-meter relay with Dayton Henriksen (Wheaton North) and Derek Nelson (Calif.-Davis), having qualified ninth-fastest (3:18.87), and Hackler will compete in the 400-meter dash as well, owning the ninth-fastest time at 49.28 seconds.
The Cardinals’ Pat Foley (Lincoln-Way Central) is the eighth-fastest qualifier in the 800-meter run (1:53.27), while Zach Heerspink (Holland, Mich.) ranks ninth among the qualifiers in the high jump (6’9 1/2”) and Matt Souvannasing (West Aurora) is 11th in the long jump (23’7 1/4”). Foley, Heerspink, and the 4x400 relay team earned their qualifying marks last weekend.
The pole vault will be contested on Friday at 3:30 p.m., followed by the long jump at 4:00, the 400-meter dash preliminaries at 5:05, the 800-meter run qualifying heats at 5:50 and the distance medley relay at 6:15. The high jump will begin at 2:15 on Saturday, followed by the 400-meter dash final at 2:20, the 800-meter run final at 3:00, the 5,000-meter run at 3:20 and the 4x400 relay at 4:05.
WOMEN’S TRACK
NCC has three qualifiers at nationals — North Central will have three representatives competing in this weekend’s NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships at Al B. Carius Track in Naperville.
Making her second appearance at the championships will be sophomore pole vaulter Elizabeth Composto (University High, Normal). Ranking fifth among the qualifiers with a personal-best clearance of 12 feet, 6 1/4 inches on Feb. 15 at the Cardinal Classic, also held at North Central, she will be seeking All-America honors for the second straight season. Composto placed eighth in last year’s indoor championships at Grinnell College and also qualified for the 2012 outdoor national championships.
The Cardinals also have two competitors making their first national-championship appearances. Sophomore Ebony Stallworth (Thornwood) ranks 12th in the qualifying field in the shot put (45’3 1/2”), while junior Jocelyn Redlinski (Orchard Park, N.Y) ranks 15th in the pentathlon (3,275 points). Both have established new North Central indoor varsity records with their qualifying marks.
The pentathlon will begin on Friday at 10 a.m., with the pole vault to start at 11 a.m. The shot put will be contested on Saturday at 2 p.m.
YOUTH SPORTS
Naperville wrestlers head to state tourney — Two members of the Naperville Wrestling Club earned spots in the Illinois Kid Wrestling Federation State Championship Tournament by qualifying at Saturday’s West Chicago Sectional Tournament.
Naperville residents Jake Keating and Laddie Skarecky claimed bids to the IKWF Championships to be held Friday and Saturday in Rockford. Keating finished third in the Senior Division (age 13-14)) 89-pound weight class, and Shlarecky claimed third in the Senior 166-pound weight class.
The IKWF West Chicago Sectional, held at South Elgin High School on March 3, features the top youth wrestlers from throughout the western suburbs.
Keating attends Kennedy Junior High and Shlarecky is a student at Lincoln Junior High.
The Naperville Wrestling Club is based at Naperville Central High School and is open to boys and girls in kindergarten through eighth grade. More information is available at www.napervillewrestlingclub.com .
