EDITOR'S NOTE: Field events were not available until Sunday morning and have now been added to the story, complete results are also now available.

Wheaton, Ill. – After battling through a few weeks of cold and rainy conditions for outdoor track and field meets, Wheaton finally enjoyed a summer-like day on Saturday afternoon as it hosted the annual Don Church Twilight Meet at McCully Stadium. Wheaton finished second in the 10-team field among the men's programs at the meet.

The North Central men's program scored 177 points to finish first, Wheaton was second with 138 points, Carthage placed third with 113 points, Aurora was fourth with 86 points and Benedictine rounded out the top-five with 78 points. Elmhurst finished sixth with 61 points, Millikin scored 53 points in seventh place, Illinois Wesleyan was eighth with 44 points, North Park finished ninth with 23 points and Illinois Tech was 10th with seven points.
 
The most impressive event of the day for the Thunder was the 3000-meter run, in which five Wheaton runners placed in the top-eight, including a sweep of the top four spots in the race. Ryan Cross led the way for Wheaton, winning the 3000 with a time of 9:02.32, while teammate Nathan Gibson was right on his heels, finishing second in 9:02.54. Eric Gronbeck earned a third-place finish with a time of 9:10.87, Sam Carlson finished in fourth place in 9:15.76, and Kellen Peterson recorded a time of 9:57.01, good for seventh place.

Senior Don Crowder won the men's high jump with a leap of 1.97-meters, while James Cunningham was fifth at 1.87-meters. David Bradley (PICTURED LEFT) won the men's pole vault with an effort of 4.60-meters.
 
Another mid-distance event, the 1500-meter run, saw three Thunder runners finish on the podium. Daniel Morken ran a time of 4:09.97, good for third place, followed closely by teammate John Logan who earned fourth with a time of 4:10.37. Gabe Praamsma finished in eighth place in 4:15.37.
 
Eli Odell (PICTURED ABOVE) enjoyed a good day for Wheaton, as he won the 400 hurdles in 54.32 seconds that is currently 19th in Division III. Odell led off for the relay squad that won the 4x400 in 3:19.60, along with teammates Chris Albert, Elliot Kim, and Andrew Lauber. Lauber also ran the 400-meter race and finished third with a time of 49.88, while Kim also ran the 800-meter, finishing fifth in 1:59.13. Also in that race, John Logan finished sixth with a time of 1:59.55.
 
Jediah Giller was a finalist in two different hurdle events, earning fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.20 seconds, and sixth in the 400-meter hurdles thanks to a time of 59.85 seconds.
 
In the 3000-meter steeple, Kevin Riley and Sam Elsen finished back-to-back in the second- and third-place spots, with Riley finishing in 9:17.01 and Elsen finishing in 9:32.27. Riley's effort is currently 17th in Division III. In the 4x100 relay, Wheaton's squad of Jack Peak, Nico Bradley, Josiah Rood, and Albert placed seventh with a time of 43.11 seconds.

Elijah Nitz finished third in the discus throw with a toss of 41.56-meters, and he was seventh in the shot put at 14.26-meters. Teammate Trevor Gabriele finished fifth in the shot put with a heave of 14.77-meters.
 
The Thunder track and field teams are scheduled to compete in the Elmhurst Invitational to be held at Wheaton's McCully Stadium.