You can throw the predictions out the window after the North Central men’s track team had a great Day 1 at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday. Coming into the meet, the cardinals were only supposed to score 19 points on paper but are already sitting with 26 points going into a second day of competition.
Luke Winder and Spencer LaHaye led off the day with the pole vault. LaHaye came in seated 14th in the competition and moved up to fourth place, earning his first All-American honor. Next, Luke Winder won his fifth national championship with a height of 17 feet and 3/4 inches.
Dhruvil Patel brought up the team momentum during the 5,000-meter run. Starting off in the back of the pack, Patel stayed patient and moved up throughout his race. Coming into the meet seated at 15th place, Patel moved up into an impressive second-place finish. NCC’s Nolan McKenna also placed 14th overall in the field.
The final event on the track was the distance medley relay. This race consists of a 1,200 leg, 400 leg, 800 leg and finishes up with the mile. NCC’s relay consisted of Ethan Adlfinger, Josh Martin, Chris Buechner and Zach Hird. Through the first three legs, the Cardinals were in the back of the pack, until Hird finished strong earning them All-Amerian honors in sixth place.
You can catch Day 2 live at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule
