FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Official Championship Site

Mar. 10, 2010-- Boasting more entrants than any other institution, the North Central College men's track & field squad will look to capture its first team trophy at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships since 2000, as 13 athletes spread across eight events make the trek to Greencastle, Ind. for the two-day championships beginning on Friday.

Leading the way for the Cardinals is the pole vaulting unit, landing four qualifiers under the direction of 2010 Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year, Tim Winder. Two-time Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year and 2009 Indoor National Champion, Jake Winder enters the meet with the best mark in Division III after clearing 17 feet 4 ½ inches on Feb. 26 at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championships, winning the pole vault title for the second straight season. Winder is no stranger to the national meet, placing second in 2008 before needing just one jump to win the National Title in 2009. Despite his success, Winder has taken a remarkably simple approach to this year's championships.

“This year I am going in and just going to be thankful for the opportunity,” he said. “It's my senior year, I just have to go in there and have fun.”

Also making a return trip is John Wood, who has the sixth best vault in the country after clearing 16'4 ¾” at the NCC Triangular on Jan. 29. Wood made his nationals debut as a freshman in 2009, placing third, eventually clearing 16'1 ¾” after missing his first two attempts at opening height.

“Last year was just a good experience. I know what it's like and what the atmosphere is. I also know what I have to do to do well,” he said.

Making their first ever trips to Indoor Nationals are freshmen Peter Geraghty and Thomas Stacey. Geraghty currently has the third best vault in Division III, clearing 16'6 ¾ at the Squig Converse Invitational on Feb. 5 while Stacey has the fifth best vault in Division III, clearing 16'4 3/4 “ at the CCIW Championships to place second. The pole vault competition gets underway at 10 a.m. (Eastern) on Friday.

In one year's time, Kyle Brady has gone from making his first appearance at Indoor Nationals to being a grizzled veteran, having earned All-American accolades four times since last March. Brady finished eighth in 5,000-meters at last year's Indoor Championships, claiming his first career All-American honor. The senior would follow that up with a fifth place showing in the 10,000-meters and a sixth-place finish in the 5,000-meters at the Outdoor Championships before earning All-American status in the fall as part of the National Championship winning cross country squad. The senior once again qualifies in the 5,000-meters, clocking a 14:28.36 at the Squig Converse Invitational. His time is currently the second fastest time in Division III and is the best performance recorded this season on a non-banked track. Brady will hit the track at 3:55 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday.

Another athlete benefiting from an extra year of experience is Matt Borchardt, who along with Joe Schneiderbauer, make their first appearance at Nationals, both qualifying in the pentathlon. Borchardt, the school record holder in the event, has improved his point total every time he has competed in the pentathlon during his collegiate career, participating in two in 2009 and three this season. The junior, who almost exclusively did high jump as a freshman, attributes his success to the extra year to master some of the technical events along with his experience competing for a small high school where he was frequently asked to compete in multiple events for the team.

“Some of the events (in the pentathlon) are really technical,” he said. “Learning the technique last year I'm now able to use a bit more strength and technique.”

Borchardt won the pentathlon at the CCIW Championships in February, racking up 3,641 points, a performance that currently is the eighth best point-total in Division III. Joining Borchardt at Nationals is Schneiderbauer, who racked up 3,558 points at the CCIW Championships, placing second. His point total is currently the 11th best performance in Division III. Schneiderbauer did not compete in the pentathlon during the indoor season in 2009, however was a provisional qualifier in the decathlon during the outdoor season. The sophomore has proven to be a versatile athlete throughout his career at North Central, having already experienced considerable success on the football field where the strong safety turned inside linebacker was named First Team All-CCIW.

The Cardinals are one of just two teams to have multiple entries in the pentathlon, an advantage Borchardt and Schneiderbauer will look to exploit.

“It's a huge advantage, I think there is only one other team with multiple athletes in the pent. I tend to feed off teammate's energy,” said Borchardt.

The pentathlon will open up the Championships, getting underway on Friday at 9 a.m. (Eastern).

Representing North Central in both the shot put and weight throw, Robert Kapustka makes his first appearance at the national meet. Kapustka was a dual-winner at the CCIW Championships, winning both events in convincing fashion en route to being named the CCIW Field Athlete of the Meet. The sophomore has the 15th best throw in Division III in the shot put with a mark of 52'8” and has the 13th best effort in the weight throw with a toss of 59' 4 ¼”. Kapustka was a dual sport athlete as a freshman, playing defensive line on the football team before deciding to hang up the cleats this school year. The decision has paid off for Kapustka, who with the additional fall instruction has been able to fine tune his technique and work on his turns. The weight throw begins at 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday while the shot put is contested the following day at 1 p.m. (Eastern).

Dan Benton makes his first appearance at Indoor Nationals, qualifying in both the 400-meter dash and as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team. Benton, a College of DuPage transfer, was the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III National Champion in the 400-meters during the outdoor season in 2009. The junior currently holds the eighth fastest time in Division III this season, clocking a 49.15 on Feb. 27 to win the CCIW Championship. Benton along with Jon Howard joins freshmen Jonathan Caron and Dayton Henriksen as qualifiers in the 4x400-meter relay. The quartet clocked a 3:18.29 at last weekend's Pointer Last Chance Qualifier, a time that currently sits sixth nationally. The relay squad will have an element of familiarity with the field as five of the top 10 relays competed at the Pointer Qualifier on Mar. 6.

Preliminaries of the 400-meter dash begin at 5:05 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday with finals set for 2:55 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday. The 4x400-meter relay will conclude the meet, getting underway at 4:40 p.m. on Saturday.

Three years of hard work have finally paid off for Jacob Austin, making his first trip to Indoor Nationals after qualifying in the 800-meter run. The senior clocked a 1:53.79 at the CCIW Championships, winning the event in the process and currently holds the 14th fastest time in Division III. Austin hits the track at 5:45 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday in the preliminary heats with the finals scheduled for 3:35 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday.

Projections of team scores based on the national performance list have the Cardinals placing third with 36 points. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is the projected National Champion with 47 points followed by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with 37.5 points. The State University of New York-Geneseo is predicted to place fourth (28 points), followed by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (22 points).

The 2010 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships get underway on Friday at 9 a.m. (Eastern) inside the James A. Hollensteiner Track on the campus of DePauw University and conclude on Saturday. Live video coverage of all the action can be found here.