Naperville Central’s boys track team secured a win on Feb. 20 at the North Central College Boys Indoor Invitational in a field of 12 teams. The team led the field with 106.5 points and out of the 15 events in the meet, Central placed in the top eight in 14 of them.

The invitational is only in its second year, and is the second consecutive title Central’s team has brought home. 

To score points, competitors must finish in the top eight. First place earns 10 points, second place earns eight, and the remaining positions receive six, five, four, three, two and one, respectively.

“We can be really proud that we’re setting a tradition of having a really strong team early on in the season,”  head coach Steven Stack said.

In the opening event of the invitational, the 4×800 relay, junior Vaughn Scherer, senior Zach Huffstetter, senior Richard Zhangand senior Paul Van der Vorst secured first place.

“Starting a track event with a win is huge,” Stack said. 

In field events, junior Zoelen Terry competed in the high jump, clearing 5’10” to secure fourth place and earn five points for the team.

“The field events were really exciting to watch,” Stack said.

Ben Blank set a personal and school record for sophomores in the shot put with a 53-foot throw.

“The whole time, there was no one sitting down, everyone was cheering at every event,” Blank said. “Even if they didn’t know the people or if they didn’t do the events, they were just there clapping and cheering on.” 

Sophomore Chad Earl secured first place in the 400-meter run, while senior Patrick Clune finished third in the same race.

“[The] 400 meter dash is a big anchor event for us, [this race had] a lot of great things all over the place,” Stack said. “To come away with a win early on in the season is great for confidence.”

The team will compete in the indoor DuPage Valley Championship on March 21.

“We’ve got a really well-balanced team,” Stack said. “There’s no event that is a true weakness for us at this point.”