NCC women’s track and field has competed in eight meets so far in the 2022 indoor season, highlighted by their main hurdler, Julia Babinec ‘22. The opening meet of the team’s 2022 indoor season was the Cardinal Opener, where they hosted six teams. The Cardinals won four events, three being field events.
Kathy Myrda ‘22, started her indoor season strong by clearing 11 feet 5.75 inches to claim first in the pole vault. Alexandra Draves ‘22, competed in the 20-pound weight throw and claimed first, throwing a distance of 52 feet 1.25 inches. While Sarah Elischer ‘24, placed first in the high jump clearing 5 feet 1.25 inches, achieving her personal best record.
The Cardinals have found quick success during their indoor season, placing first across many different events. Three Cardinals — Babinec, Lindsey Novak ’23 and Draves, have also picked up a few College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Student-Athlete of The Week awards.
Babinec Collects Three CCIW Awards
Babinec was named the first CCIW Track Student-Athlete of The Week of the season after the Cardinal Opener as she dominated in the 60-meter hurdles and placed third in the 60-meter dash.
The following week, she was again named the CCIW Track Student-Athlete of The Week. She earned her second award for her outstanding performances by placing first in two events at the Snow Day Invitational. Babinec placed first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.75 seconds. Her time ranked second for all of Division III.
Babinec collected her third CCIW Track Student-Athlete of The Week after her performance in the Walter Cramer Invitational. She competed in the 60-meter hurdles and won with a time of 8.76 seconds.
Her best time is currently second in the Cardinal’s indoor program history for the 60-meter hurdles (8.75) and is also ninth in Cardinal’s history for the 60-meter dash (7.96). Babinec looks to continue to have a successful indoor season as she prepares for the upcoming spring outdoor season. Last spring, Babinec placed sixth at the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter hurdles.
Newcomer Novak
Novak, a sprinter, has been producing impressive numbers in her first season competing for the NCC track and field team. Novak is also a part of the NCC women’s soccer team.
Novak’s decision to join the track team at NCC stemmed from her high school cross country coach, who is an NCC alumnus. She had talked with her old coach about the NCC track and field team and was inspired by the stories and the uplifting culture the team has.
She took further steps and contacted Coach Kari Kluckhohn to talk about the possibilities of joining the track and field team.
“While talking about competitive drive, female empowerment, team culture and the desire for more in life, I made the decision to join the team.” Novak said.
A Quick Learner
Novak has already entered the record books for the Cardinals. Her performances in the Aurora Grand Prix– where she placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.39 seconds, placed her seventh in Cardinal’s history. She also competed in the 200-meter and finished second. Her personal best of 25.76 seconds moved her into fourth in program history.
“Ultimately, mental strength must trump physical weakness in this event, and I focus on this throughout all my training sessions, and I enjoy testing my limits,” said Novak.
Novak’s performances during the Aurora Grand Prix earned her the CCIW Track Student-Athlete of The Week. She recently competed in the 600-meter run at the Walter Cramer Invitational, posting a time of 1 minute, 41.05 seconds to win the event.
“I know that not every race will go the way I hope, but I want to enjoy every competition and strive to set personal bests,” said Novak.
She wants to see the team win conference in both indoor and outdoor seasons. “The family we have here is special. At the end of the day, it’s not about winning; this experience and season is about competing at our best with the people we love and support,” said Novak.
New Records From Friday
On Friday, Feb. 11 NCC sent a small group to compete at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet.
Draves and Babinec both produced some impressive results at Grand Valley. Draves competed in the 20-pound weight throw and finished second, throwing 17.51 meters. This throw moved Draves to sixth in the national rankings.
Babinec competed in the 60-meter hurdles and finished seventh with a personal best time of 8.64 seconds. Her time was the 16th fastest time in NCAA Division III history.
Last Saturday Before Indoor Championships
The following day, during the Pat Hennan Invitational at Al B. Carius Track, Draves would compete again in the 20-pound weight throw. She broke her own school record with a throw of 17.80 meters. This moved Draves fifth nationally. Draves’ performance earned her CCIW Field Student-Athlete of The Week.
Another standout performance came from Novak as she finished first in the 400-meter run clocking a time of 58.68 seconds. Novak also competed in the 200-meter and finished second, getting a personal best of 25.76 seconds. She also received another CCIW Track Student-Athlete of The Week award from her impressive performances at the Pat Hennan Invitational.
Cardinals Look Towards CCIW Championship
The Cardinals competed in their last regular meet of the 2022 indoor season at the F. Lee Slick Invitational hosted by NCC. The Cardinals finished second behind Lewis University, out of seven teams. Draves was the only Cardinal to finish first on the day and threw a distance of 16.58 meters. While the Cardinals may not have placed first in their designated events, there were personal best times that were being set.
Freshman hurdler, Katie Wagner ‘25, had a personal best time of 9.43 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. Her time ranks eighth in school history. Sprinter Marcedes Jackson ‘22, achieved her personal best during the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.83 seconds and ranks fourth fastest in school history. Novak was also able to beat her previous personal best of 25.76 seconds in the 200-meter as her new personal best is now 25.75 seconds.
The Cardinals will look to finish the indoor season strong as the CCIW Indoor Championship begins Feb. 25, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
