After nearly a decade of second-  and third-place finishes, the Aurora University men's track & field took home its first ever NACC outdoor championship. They also completed their first ever triple crown-- conference champs in cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track in a single academic year.  They did so with 286.5 points-- more than second-place Milwaukee School of Engineering (157.5) and third-place hosts Benedictine (110.5) scored combined. For his efforts, head coach

and sophomore

, who won the long jump and triple jump.  He also ran a leg on the victorious 4x100 meter relay; for his three wins, Thompson was awarded Freshman of the Meet.
 
That 4x1 set the school record in 42.65 and in addition to Thompson was composed of

and Kalmon Stokes in the last track event of the day, the 4x400 meters.  While the meet was already clinched by the 4x4, the adrenaline of being on the best track team in school history carried the quartet to a school record.  Their 3:21.06 was good enough for a win and just half a second shy of the meet and conference record set by MSOE in 2011.
 
Speaking of Stokes: the sophomore won the 400 meter hurdles in 53.96 seconds, a new meet and school record.  That time is the 26^th fastest in DIII.  The top 20 individuals qualify for the national championship, so Stokes will be sure to chase a qualifier throughout May.
 
Another school record was set over very different 36-inch hurdles on Friday, as junior Nick Cole ran 9:49.31 for second place in the 3000 meter steeplechase.  Cole and senior Drew Schmitt anchored the long distances all weekend.  Schmitt was 2^nd in the 10000 on Friday and 5^th in the 5000 and Friday, while Cole doubled back from Friday's steeple to take third in Saturday's 5k.  Behind Cole and Schmitt, two Spartans set enormous personal bests to take sixth place in the steeple and 5k, respectively.  Luke Miller knocked down his PB by 18 seconds, running 16:01.94 for 5k, and Matt Swanson took a ridiculous 28 seconds off of his steeple best in 10:16.76.
 
Two of the toughest events in the NACC are the high jump and 110 meter hurdles; both have athletes who rank in the top ten nationally.  Spartans more than held their own against national-class competition in both.  First-year Taylor Coleman ran 15.38, the second fastest time in school history, for fourth in the hurdles.  And for the first time, sophomore Brian Rudelich was AU's first finisher in the high jump at a conference championship.  Rudelich, Loren Iwanicki, and All-American Billy Sipek of Benedictine all jumped 1.93m (6-4) as Rudelich finished second and Iwanicki and Sipek tied for third due to number of misses.  First-year Austen Stewart tied for seventh in 1.88m (6-2).
 
Freshman pole vaulter Austin Tolbert set a personal best in the vault, tying for second at a height of 4.10m (13-5.25).  And four Spartans were richly rewarded for doing ten events over the second, as Juan Mercado (4776 points), Spencer Littlefield (4568), Rob Sprung (4455), and Cody McSorley (4390) took third through sixth places.
 
For many Spartans, the season is over.  The rest will compete at the Dr. Keeler Invitational at North Central College on Thursday and Friday, chasing national qualifiers and personal bests.