WARRENVILLE, Ill. - North Central College had six of the top seven runners and seven of the top 10 as the Cardinals extended their hold on College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin men’s cross country with their 52nd consecutive conference title on Saturday at St. James Farm.
North Central had a team score of 16, with Carthage College running in second with 85 points. It was a tight finish for third, with Millikin University (93) eking past Wheaton College (94). Augustana College took fifth in the meet with 140 points, followed by Elmhurst University (178), Illinois Wesleyan University (185), Carroll University (225), and North Park University (234).
A near photo finish between NCC teammates BJ Sorg and Daniel Kasperan ended with Sorg, a senior, breaking the tape and claiming the CCIW individual title with a time of 24:05.3 while Kasperan, a sophomore, crossed in 24:05.7. Sorg would win the Men's Student-Athlete of the Meet Award for his efforts. Two more Cardinals – juniors Richard Klein and Ari Elmayan – were third and fourth, respectively, with times of 24:37.6 and 24:47.1.
The first non-North Central runner to finish the 8K course was North Park freshman Gunner Silva. Silva, the Men’s First-Year Student-Athlete of the Meet, posted a time of 24:47.1.
North Central’s Rylan Deichen (25:09.5) and Jack Galminas (25:20.0) followed in sixth and seventh. Carthage’s Harlan Matson was the first Firebird to reach the finish with a time of 25:22.0. NCC’s Nolan Crooks was ninth in 25:23.8 and Carthage’s Luke Davey wrapped up the All-CCIW First Team in 10th place, clocking a 25:24.3.
Top finishers for their teams who earned Second Team All-CCIW honors included Millikin’s Reece Peters (11th, 25:41.4), Elmhurst’s Michael Bailey (13th, 25:48.3), and Wheaton’s Michael Osielski (15th, 25:54.4).
Illinois Wesleyan was led by Josh Holloway in 21st place (26;22.7), Augustana was paced by Jaden Gocken in 22nd place (26:24.7), and Carroll’s Zach Ploszaj led the Pioneer in contingent in 39th place (27:16.0).
At the conclusion of the meet, the North Central coaching staff, under the direction of Matt Sinnott, was voted the CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year.
Men’s Student-Athlete of the Meet
BJ Sorg, North Central
Men’s First-Year Student-Athlete of the Meet
Gunner Silva, North Park
Men’s Elite 26 Award Winner
BJ Sorg, North Central
Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year
North Central
All-CCIW First Team
Luke Davey, Carthage
Harlan Matson, Carthage
Nolan Crooks, North Central
Rylan Deichen, North Central
Ari Elmayan, North Central
Jack Galminas, North Central
Daniel Kasperan, North Central
Richard Klein, North Central
BJ Sorg, North Central
Gunner Silva, North Park
All-CCIW Second Team
LJ Higgs, Carthage
Andrew Schaer, Carthage
Michael Bailey, Elmhurst
Joshua Lachance, Millikin
Reece Peters, Millikin
Kyle Bryant, North Central
Carson Lanners, North Central
Jude Hubbard, Wheaton
Michael Osielski, Wheaton
Josh Steiner, Wheaton
Men’s RESPECT Award Recipients
Primo Moreno, Augustana
Julian Bica Harrison, Carroll
Caleb Zabinski, Carthage
Kayden Miller, Elmhurst
Owen Geirnaeirt, Illinois Wesleyan
Noah Feltner, Millikin
Owen Christy, North Central
Matthew Carey, North Park
John Read-Smith, Wheaton
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).