NAPERVILLE — As the calendar sprints into February, the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s indoor track and field season moved into its late-January peak. Performances across multiple venues produced several conference-leading marks and Division III national leaders. 
 
North Central’s climb in the national ratings and a growing list of top-10 individual placements continued to shape the early postseason picture.
 
The Cardinal Rule: North Central Soars in National Rankings
North Central moved up five spots to No. 13 in the NCAA Division III Men’s Indoor National Rating Index following a strong showing at the Leonard “Squig” Converse Invitational last Friday. The Cardinals posted 11 top-five finishes and swept the CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week awards.
 
BJ Sorg opened his season in the 3,000-meter run with a personal-best 8:24.73. The mark leads the CCIW and ranks 26th nationally. Cole Oleson won the high jump with a season-best clearance of 2.06 meters (6-9), the top mark in the conference and tied for fourth in Division III.
 
North Central also received a notable result from Randy Reed at the Division I Meyo Invitational. Reed placed fourth in the 200-meter dash in 21.86, with a season-best 21.57 that remains eighth in Division III.
 
Need for Speed: Voye and Maison Burn Up the Track
Sprints produced several early-season benchmarks. Carthage freshman Landon Voye posted a 6.92 in the 60-meter dash at the Squig Converse Invitational on Friday. The time ranks third in the CCIW this season and stands as the second-fastest in program history.
 
Illinois Wesleyan’s Nyamedze Maison won the 60-meter dash at the Jason Dennis Memorial on Friday with a personal-best 7.00. Teammate Jaden Preston added a third-place finish in 7.16. Underclassmen have continued to account for a significant share of the conference’s top 60-meter times to date.
 
Going the Distance: Curulewski and Sorg Rewrite the Record Books
Distance events continued to produce high-end marks across the league. Carthage’s Jacob Curulewski placed sixth in the 3,000-meter run at the Squig Converse Invitational, setting a personal best at 8:34.10. The performance moved him to second on the program’s all-time list. North Central’s Aidan Armstrong finished fifth in the same race with a personal-best 8:32.04.
 
Millikin posted multiple mid-distance results at the ONU Invitational last Saturday. Aaron Mohr placed fourth in the 600 meters (1:23.66) and Joey McGinn earned fourth in the mile (4:29.02). Wheaton’s Matthias Everest won the 3,000 meters at the Windy City Rumble on Saturday in 8:58.34.
 
Heavy Metal: Rose and Wells Throw Their Weight Around
The top of the throws list remained active, led by consistent results from Carthage and Augustana.
 
Tyler Rose won the weight throw at the Squig Converse Invitational on Friday with a personal-best 19.19 meters. The mark ranks fourth in Division III. Rose also placed third in the shot put at 15.84 meters.
 
Augustana’s Magnus Wells won the weight throw at the Windy City Rumble on Saturday with an 18.49-meter effort. Wells added a runner-up finish in the shot put at 14.86 meters. The pair remains among the conference’s primary national contenders in the weight throw.
 
Sky’s the Limit: High Jumpers and Vaulters Hit New Heights
Vertical events supplied several of the weekend’s top finishes. Elmhurst’s Logan Turney won the pole vault at the Squig Converse Invite with a clearance of 4.71 meters (15-5.5). The performance marked his 12th career win and his second of the indoor season. Illinois Wesleyan’s Isaac Whitaker won the pole vault at the Jason Dennis Memorial by clearing 4.50 meters.
 
Wheaton’s Ty Bova won the high jump at the Windy City Rumble with a 2.02-meter clearance, a mark tied for 13th in Division III. Augustana freshman Luke Smith won the long jump in Chicago with a leap of 6.76 meters.
 
Rumble in the Windy City and Beyond
Several programs used split-squad approaches across multiple meets.
 
At the Windy City Rumble on Saturday, Augustana finished fourth in the team standings with 74 points. The Vikings were paced by event wins from Magnus Wells and Luke Smith, along with AJ Banks’ third-place finish in the 400 meters (52.64). Wheaton placed sixth with 34 points, highlighted by wins from Ty Bova and Matthias Everest.
 
Millikin competed at the ONU Invitational on Saturday, receiving fifth-place finishes from Emmett Emmons in the 400 and Matt Gowen in the 1,000. In the hurdles, Jack Pearce and Dylan Ragsdale placed third and fourth, posting times of 9.80 and 9.82.
 
Looking Ahead: The Road to the Championship
The schedule continues this weekend with multiple meets serving as key checkpoints before the CCIW championships.
 
Carthage will host the Tadd Metzger Invite and Multi in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with Carroll, Wheaton, and the host Firebirds scheduled to compete. The Keck DIII Select in Bloomington will provide a preview of the championship venue, with Illinois Wesleyan, Elmhurst, North Park, North Central and Millikin slated to participate. Multi-events are set to begin Friday afternoon. Augustana will travel to the Wartburg Select in Iowa for a two-day meet beginning Friday.