UTICA, N.Y. — Two events remained in the NJCAA Track and Field Championships and the two-time defending champion College of DuPage trailed in the team total by one point against Mineral Area.
 
Enter the 5,000 meters and star freshman Nicholas Keeling. The reigning cross country individual champion stepped up and won the event and teammate Axel Huerta finished fourth.
 
The two combined for 14 team points, while Mineral Area only earned four in the event. That 10-point swing put the Chaps in front for good.

"The guys performed above and beyond all weekend long, and for that matter, for the entire season,'' head coach Robert Cervenka said. "Across the board, we competed hard and maximized our depth.''

The Chaps competed when 19 athletes and that created a difference to outdistance Mineral Area (Mo.), ranked No. 1 all season.

"We've competed in the past with far fewer guys and that makes it difficult to win because you're asking a lot of them in multiple events,'' Cervenka said. "Our depth kept us fresh.''

Noah Mack was the sprint champion for the event, winning the 100 and 200 and running the second leg on the winning 4 x 100 relay. 

Depth paid off with freshman Graham McAninch finishing third in the 400 hurdles, fourth in the 400 and ran on the 4 x 100 relay. Pole vault champion Jack Sauder ran on the 4 x 400 relay.

And the Chaps' old guard of Anthony Eddy (second in the 1500, seventh in the 800 and first in 4 x 800 relay), Sebastian Esparza (sixth in 800, 4 x 800 relay) and Axel Huerta (fourth 5000 and fifth 3000 steeplechase) laid the ground work.

Sheldon Powell was the other individual champion, winning the 3,000 steeplechase.

"Great attitudes and leaders from our guys who have been here before,'' Cervenka said. "Those guys were stellar. And the efforts from Thomas Kling and Gabriel Parker in the decathlon put us in position to win. Derek Erdman was another guy. We picked up points in the weight events from Dustyn (Kocsis) and Isaias (Lopez). Just very proud of our guys to do something that's pretty rare in athletics.''
 
The team title is the seventh in program history and caps an academic year with four team national championships, joining men's cross country, women's volleyball, and football.
 
All-Americans
First Team
Noah Mack (100, 200, 4 x 100 relay)
Nicholas Keeling (5,000)
Sheldon Powell (3,000 steeplechase)
Jack Sauder (Pole vault)
Derek Erdman (4 x 100, 4 x 800)
Gabriel Parker (4 x 100)
Graham McAninch (4 x 100)
Randy Almarales (4 x 800)
Sebastian Esparza (4 x 800)
Anthony Eddy (4 x 800)
Second Team
Anthony Eddy (1,500)
Honorable Mention
Caleb DeBoer (10,000)
Graham McAninch (400 hurdles)
Thomas Kling (decathlon)
 
NJCAA Division III Track and Field Championships
Men
May 11-13, 2023
Finals
Team: 1. Chaparrals 144.5, 2. Mineral Area 130.5, 3. RC Gloucester 81, 4. Thaddeus Stevens 74, 5. Suffolk 57, 6. Harper 65.5, 7. Hudson Valley 48, 8. Queensborough 42, 9. Joliet 31, 10. SUNY Broome 27
Chaparrals
100: 1. Noah Mack, 10.63
200: 1. Noah Mack, 21.40
400: 4. Graham McAninch 50.15
800: 6. Sebastian Esparza 2:00.72, 7. Anthony Eddy 2:01.25, 9. Randy Almarales 2:07.97
1500: 2. Anthony Eddy 4:03.18, 10. Sebastian Esparza 4:12.71
5000: 1. Nicholas Keeling 15:51.91, 4. Axel Huerta 16:06.97, 12. Caleb DeBoer 16:37.40
10,000 — 3. Caleb DeBoer 34:35.61, 6. Nicholas Keeling 35:46.70, 7. Timothy O'Leary 35:55.60.
400 hurdles — 3. Graham McAninch 56.58
3,000 m steeplechase — 1. Sheldon Powell 9:45.40, 5. Axel Huerta 10:35.51
4 x 100 relay — 1. 42.35 (Gabriel Parker, Noah Mack, Derek Erdman, Graham McAninch)
4 x 400 relay — 4. 3:25.71 (Derek Erdman, Graham McAninch, Gabriel Parker, Noah Mack)
4 x 800 relay — 1. 8:05.63 (Derek Erdman, Randy Almarales, Sebastian Esparza, Anthony Eddy)
Pole vault — 1. Jack Sauder 15-9, 5 (tie), Dominic Cokinis 12-2 ¾, 7. Thomas Kling 12-2 3/4
Discus — 7. Dustyn Kocsis 121-7, 10. Isaias Lopez 116-0.
Hammer — 4. Dustyn Kocsis 141-1, 7. Isaias Lopez 136-2, 10. Luke Gavin 113-9
Decathlon — 3. Thomas Kling 4,791, 4. Gabriel Parker 4,576