It’s that time once again; the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championships took place Saturday, April 20th as the Cougars competed at University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill. The men had a fair outing taking fourth place while the women finished fifth.
Kicking it off for the men, in the 100 meter dash sophomore John Stancato finished in first place with a time of 10.99, and junior Nick Pesek placed sixth with a time of 11.63.
In the men’s 200 meter dash, three Cougars were in the top ten. Leading the way once again was John Stancato in first place with a time of 22.58.
Behind Stancato was sophomore Matt Krakowski, finishing in seventh place with a time of 23.76. Nick Pesek placed tenth in the event with a time of 24.00.
Krakowski finished sixth in the 400 meter dash with a time of 51.50. Junior Shane Kenney finished the 800 meter dash with a time of 1:59.47 in third.
In the 4×100 meter relay, the team of Krakowski, Pesek and sophomores Brandon Gentry and Tyler Hoeg placed third with a time of 45.33. Finally, in the 4×400 meter relay, the team of Kenney, Krakowski, sophomore Mark Catania and freshman Eric Hancock finished in first with a time of 3:29.53.
For the women, in the 800 meter run, three Cougars stacked up with senior Jackie Ott placing third with a time of 2:21.97, junior Leslie Rosario in fourth with a time of 2:24.92, and freshman Christa Pitts placed fifth with a time of 2:25.08.
Senior Rachael Dean led the way once again finishing in first in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:47.73. Senior Ashley Shares took fourth in the 5,000 meter run finishing with a time of 18:23.69.
Coming up on May 9th – 10th, the Cougars will look to close out their season competing in their final event before the NAIA Outdoor National Championships. The Cougars will be competing in the Dr. Keeler Invitational at North Central College in Naperville, Ill.
The 2013 NAIA Outdoor National Championships will take place on Thursday, May 23rd in Marion, Ind. The event is hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University. Saint Xavier University will look to have a lot of its players compete in the National Championships as they did for the indoor season that passed earlier this year. Both teams have a lot of talent and will look to represent the school going forward in the future.
Good luck to the track teams as they head into the end of their season and look to prepare for Nationals!
Will Weyant
Sports Correspondent