Carthage’s Curulewski earns All-American honors as North Central places tenth at NCAA cross country championship

Carthage College athlete Jacob Curulewski achieved an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championship, earning the Firebirds’ first All-American honor in the event. The championship took place on Saturday at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Curulewski completed the race with a time of 23:56.0, trailing race winner Emmanuel Leblond from Johns Hopkins by 21 seconds. Curulewski had previously won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship earlier in November.

North Central College, which won its 51st consecutive CCIW title this season, finished tenth overall with 315 points. The Cardinals also extended their record to 58 straight appearances at the NCAA Championships.

The team was led by junior B.J. Sorg, who placed 30th with a time of 24:33.7 after being among the top 20 runners early in the race. Sophomore Oscar Frontjes finished close behind in 32nd place at 24:34.9, moving up from his initial position and securing his first All-America honor.

Senior/graduate student Jacob Kluckhohn narrowly missed a top-40 finish, coming in 45th at 24:47.6—three seconds off his personal best. Senior Aidan Armstrong finished in 132nd place with a time of 25:33.9 following a strong effort late in the race. Sophomore Ari Elmayan placed 179th in 25:50.9 after running inside the top 100 during the early stages.

Freshman Jack Galminas participated in his first national meet and finished 204th at 26:03.5, while junior Nolan Crooks concluded North Central’s lineup by placing 246th with a time of 26:27.0.