North Central College Men's Track and Field at Pat Heenan Invitational // 2.14.20

North Central College Men's Track and Field hosts the Pat Heenan Invitational. The Cardinals use several first place efforts to win the event at home.

Al Carius on hand and rooting on his Cardinals – which are hosting the Pat Heenan Invitational on the Al B Carius track. Frank Gramarosso ranked 8th in the latest poll… and plenty of strong teams on hand, so let’s jump right in.

Long Jump
First up is junior Kendall Johnson in the long jump – and the Palatine native takes off and lands 19 feet and 6 inches later – good for 15th in the field and 2nd best for the Cardinals

North Central’s top leaper is Jacob Miller. The sophomore may have faulted on this pass, but his second run produced a 20 foot, 1 and 3 quarter inch mark… good for 8th

Triple Jump
Moving to the triple jump and we return to Johnson – and he’s aiming for a high placing… and he’s doing just that. His leap of 45 feet 2 and a quarter inches gives him the second spot on the night

Behind… only teammate Izaiah Webb – who’s pumping up the crowd. Webb cruising down the run way and lifts off for a meet high mark of 46 feet, 4 and a quarter inches. A season best mark in the event.

Pole Vault
To the pole vault and we’ve got a freshman in the field – Michael Shuff showing off his prowess in the event with a mark of 14 feet, 10 and a quarter inches. Good enough for 4th in the field.

No rest for Webb, either… the senior from Dekalb also taking a shot at the top spot in the pole vault… and while he catapults himself a top height of 15 feet, 2 and a quarter inches, the mark come up just shy of first place by just 4 inches.

High Jump
Moving on to the high jump and North Central’s Nick Janca waiting until the bar had reached 6 foot 4… and then nails his first jump – unable to hit the next height, the junior claims second by just 2 inches.

Mile Run
Next to the track – and let’s get in on the mile… which features North Central’s Brendan Sebastian in a field that includes runners from the University of Chicago and Wheaton.

And it’s the Cardinals’ junior who speeds past the finish line in first place – 4:16 the time, securing another 10 points for North Central.

60 meter dash
Onward to the shortest race of the night – the 60 meter dash. Former football player Nate Bailey pacing the Cardinals in the heat – blazing in with a registered time of 7:10… a season best. He takes home third and 6 team points… followed by Jamauri Spivery, Michael Stanley and Avante Rivers.

60 meter hurdles
As for the 60 hurdles – Keyon Wobler places 8th for North Central with a 8.65 time.

200 meter
Next we get to the 200 meter dash, Stanley back at it for North Central… and the junior is in a contested race coming down the home stretch – and he edges out Wabash sprinter Josh Wiggins to capture first place with a time of 22.35.

400 meter
Climbing the distance ladder, we progress to the 400 meter race. Gavin Cernak in the fastest heat and midway through, he’s in third. But come the final straight away, the North Central the senior has pulled in front – and tops the field with a 50.37 time.

800 meter
On to the 800… and we get another Brendan Sebastian sighting. He just BARELY eeks out a win over a Wheaton runner – placing second in the field – NCC alum Tyler McQuality coming in “unofficial” second place.

3K
Upward and onward to the 3000 meter… North Central with Dolan Harris, Bjorn Shroda and Josh Johnson in the race. Middle of the race and the Cardinals in the middle of the pack. To the finish line… and Harris is the first Cardinal to cross in sixth, Shroda in 8th while Johnson places 12th. Harris with an NCC best time of 8:53

5K
Get ready for the 5000 meter – traditionally North Central’s strongest event… which says something considering the program’s 12 indoor and outdoor national championships. Midway through you see a Maroon runner… followed by a whole bunch of Cardinals.

Matt Osmulski has taken the lead in the second half of the race, urged on by Al

And the winner is Osmulski with a PR of 14:34… which also lands him as the CCIW’s athlete of the week.

Just behind the senior are Gabe Pommier, Braden Nicholson and Nick Lucari… all within 5 seconds of each other.

4X400 Relay
Finally… to the meet-ending 4 by 400 meter relay… NCC entering the team of Michael Stanley, Maceo Findlay, Andrew Lehman and Gavin Cermak… and while trailing Olivet Nazarene early, North Central draws even midway through… but in the final 50 meters, Ethan Hodel pulls through for Olivet and they edge out NCC by .13 second

North Central wins the meet though by more than 50 points