JJC Track and Field Wins 7 National Titles at NJCAA DIII Championships

It was a historic outing for the Joliet Junior College track and field teams this year as the Wolves traveled to Utica, New York, for the NJCAA Division III National Track and Field Championships. 

The men finished third overall with five total national titles, of which freshman Nathan Ciarlette won four. The women had two national champions with a fifth-place team finish, just two points shy of fourth. Weather conditions were less than ideal on the weekend with rain and wind. 

"Our kids performed unbelievably well in some very adverse conditions, but the conditions were the same for everybody who ran," said Wolves head coach Jeff DeGraw. "But our kids really came through and I think part of that is living in the Chicagoland area. ... But to have seven individual national champions and our first two women to ever win track titles, and they happened within hours of each other on Friday — incredible." 

The weekend started off hot for the Wolves as Ciarlette joined Alex Johnson, Chris Johnson and Caleb Kies to repeat as 4x800 meter (8:00.34) national champions on the first day of competition. Ciarlette added three more individual championships to his resume Saturday with first place finishes in the men's 800 meter (1:58.62), 1,500 meter (4:05.86) and 5,000 meter (16:13.30).  

"After that first race on Thursday, I was more relieved than anything," DeGraw said. "We got through it, we won and everybody's healthy, now let's move on to the next day. And what can I say that hasn't already been said about Nathan? To win the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 — that's just phenomenal and it wasn't even close in any of them." 

Collin Dames won the national title in shot put (13.26 meters) Friday while teammate Jacob Matlock finished seventh (11.74 meters). 

Vivienne Forte won JJC’s first-ever women's national track and field title on day two of competition with a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (13:13.53). The Wolves added another when Hailey Ostrom won the heptathlon with 2,987 points while teammate Brooklyn Stuckey finished sixth (1,680).

"Hailey's performance was unbelievable the whole weekend because she not only did the (heptathlon) but she was in four other events," said DeGraw. "Hailey was in 13 events over the three days. By the end, she was exhausted." 

Other notable finishes for the women's side include a second-place finish for the 4x800 team of Allison Behounek, Gabby Zid, Maura Cecich and Forte; Ostrom sixth in high jump; sixth in the 4x100 relay for Stuckey, Ostrom, Cecich and Regan Furmankiewicz; Furmankiewicz third in 100; and Ostrom fifth in 100-meter hurdles. 

Notable finishes for the men include Jyaveion Green’s fourth place finish for high jump; Azariah Henry-Bolls third in 100 and the 200; All-American finishes by Alex Johnson, Vince Demma and Chris Johnson in the 400; and three top five finishes in the 800 — Ciarlette in first, Alex Johnson in second and Chris Johnson in fifth. 

The Wolves had 51 total USTFCCCA All-American honors earned over the weekend, with 15 from the men's and seven on the women's side. Those All-Americans are:

• Chris Johnson
• Alex Johnson
• Michael Welcome
• Collin Dames
• Jacob Matlock
• Gavin Carlson
• Nathan Ciarlette
• Logan Schmidt
• Will Splant
• Caleb Kies
• Vince Demma
• Romello Ali
• Jyaveion Green
• Keldon Caldwell
• Azariah Henry-Bolls
• Vivienne Forte
• Hailey Ostrom
• Gabriela Zid
• Allison Behounek
• Regan Furmankiewicz
• Maura Cecich
• Brooklyn Stuckey

For his efforts, Ciarlette earned the USTFCCCA NJCAA Division III Men's Athlete of the Year honor. 

Full results for the national meet can be found online at TFRRS.