NCC women’s track fresh off solid indoor season
by rob wollenzien For Sun-Times Media March 17, 2011 6:00PM
Schedule
March 25 — Washington University Select Meet, St. Louis, Mo. 2:30 p.m.
April 1-2 — First Chance Invitational, Naperville, 1 p.m./10 a.m.
April 8-9 — Chicagoland Outdoor Championships, Chicago, 10 a.m.
April 16 — Wheaton Twilight, Wheaton, 3 p.m.
April 29 — Benedictine University Invitational, Lisle, 3 p.m.
May 6-7 — CCIW Outdoor Championships, Rock Island, 10 a.m.
May 12-13 — Dr. Keeler Invitational, Naperville, 8 a.m./noon
May 17-18 — Gregory Multi-Events, Naperville, noon
May 19-20 — Gregory Invitational, Naperville, noon
May 26-28 — NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships, Delaware, Ohio, TBA
Updated: September 24, 2012 6:25AM
At the beginning of the women’s track and field indoor season, North Central set its sights on winning the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin title.
The Cardinals did more than that, scoring 252 points Feb. 25-26 to finish a women’s indoor CCIW-record 117 points ahead of the runner-up. Illinois Wesleyan University (135) took second and Carthage College finished third with 123.
Then, March 11-12, NCC placed 17th (tying with Carthage) among the 57 teams at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
“We had an outstanding indoor season,” coach Kari Kluckhohn says. “Winning the conference was one of the highlights because we never expected to win by that much.”
The North Central women don’t just focus on winning titles, though. Kluckhohn and her coaching staff have a very specific path laid out for achieving the team’s goals.
That path helped produce 50 personal-best marks at the CCIW Indoor Championships.
“Our goal is to see personal bests and build throughout the season,” she says. “By doing what we need to do in our day-to-day training, our longer-term goals become more reachable. We also emphasize things like being present and coachable, and (being) team-oriented.”
The CCIW indoor title is the Cardinals’ first since 2007. They also captured their second straight CCIW cross country championship in the fall.
“We have great momentum from cross country and indoor track,” Kluckhohn say. “Now, we hope we can continue that in the outdoor season.”
NCC kicks off the outdoor season March 25 at the Washington University Mini Meet in St. Louis.
Indoor All-Americans Amanda Laesch, Sheila Walsh, Lauren Brightmore, Krista Cota and Kala Bingham form a formidable core group on the track.
In the field, Kristine Zizis is the defending CCIW javelin champion for the outdoor season.
