Wheaton, Ill. – In a Friday night event hosted by Elmhurst University but on their home track at McCully Stadium, the Thunder men's track & field team competed in the 14-team Elmhurst Twilight Invitational. Thanks in part to a handful of strong performances in the 3000-meter steeplechase, the Wheaton men placed second overall, scoring 93 points as a team. North Central College won the evening meet with 166.5 points overall.
 
The steeplechase saw Wheaton grab the first six of eight scoring spots in the event. Sam Elsen led the way for the Thunder, finishing in 9:23.32 and winning the event by more than 30 seconds. Jacob Fopma and Noah Fopma followed in second and third place, respectively, with scores of 9:58.41 and 10:04.72. Rounding out the top-six were Braedon Veurink, finishing fourth in 10:05.94, Christian Voetberg, who placed fifth in 10:15.24, and Jonah Noyes, who earned sixth place with a time of 10:21.56.
 
Jediah Giller had two strong performances for the Thunder in his hurdles events. He won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.40 seconds, and he finished in third place in the 110-meter hurdles thanks to a time of 15.85 seconds.
 
Eric Gronbeck added to Wheaton's total score thanks to a good finish in the 3000-meter run. His time of 8:59.90 was good for fifth in that race.
 
Off the track, at both McCully Stadium and Wheaton's nearby Larson Field, several Thunder athletes placed well in their respective field events to aid in Wheaton's runner-up team finish. James Cummings placed second in the high jump with a top mark of 1.82 meters, while teammate Ethan Harsted earned the same finish in the pole vault thanks to a leap of 4.30 meters. And in the triple jump, Jeremy Earnst earned a third-place finish with a top jump of 12.98 meters.
 
Trevor Gabriele led a trio of scorers in the shot put, as his top toss of 14.18 meters earned him fourth place. Paul Fay threw a mark of 13.90 meters for sixth place, and Jaden Pankau earned eighth place with a throw of 13.40 meters.
 
Pankau also earned fifth place in the discus, with a toss of 42.52 meters. Meanwhile, teammate Jaden Ferlita finished in seventh in that same event thanks to a top throw of 40.76 meters.
 
This weekend marked the final chance for Wheaton to compete ahead of the CCIW Outdoor Championships, which will be held next Friday and Saturday, May 5-6, at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis.