With the winter sports season winding down for NCAA competition, North Central College had several teams and athletes perform well at the Division III National Championships over the weekend.
North Central men’s wrestling makes its mark at Nationals
One week after North Central women’s wrestling finished as the National runner up, NCC men’s wrestling proved to be a top tier program as well, finishing in sixth place at the D-III nationals. The Cardinals were led by four All-American selections including Christian Guzman, who finished as the national runner-up at 125 pounds for a second straight season.
Bradley Rosen took third at 141 pounds, Javen Estrada finished eighth at 174 pounds while Robbie Bates took eighth at 285 pounds with all three earning All-American status.
It was a great season for North Central men’s wrestling, who won the CCIW for a third consecutive season and won a regional championship for the first time in program history.
Braden Nicholson shines for NCC men’s indoor track
At the Division III Men’s Indoor Track and Field National Championships, distance runner Braden Nicholson became the second national champion in the 3000 meter race in program history. The graduate student finished in first place with a time of 8:07.39.
The Cardinals also had a pair of Second Team All-Americans in field events. Colton Oleson finished in 11th place in the high jump while Jayden Leise finished in 11th in the triple jump.
A pair of All-Americans at the Women’s Indoor National Championships
The winter sports season concluded for North Central at the Division III Women’s Indoor Track and Field National Championships, where the Cardinals brought home three more All-American trophies home to Naperville. Gwen Berenyi finished in fifth place in the pole vault with a jump of 3.97 meters, earing First Team All-American honors in her final jump of the meet.
Graduate student Lindsey Novak earned the seventh and eighth All-American selections of her career with a pair of eighth place finishes in the 200 meters and 400 meters. Two more First Team All-American selections for Novak in her decorated NCC career.