ELKHART, Ind. -- This week marked the beginning of championship season in high school track and field, meaning the stakes get higher and higher each meet.

But for Elkhart Central boys, it doesn't get much bigger than the conference title.

"First day of practice, we layed out our goals for the year," said head coach Jake Balch. "We've hit them all so far, but the big one was 'We're going to win the NIC. We're going to get the NIC back here where we want it.'"

Mission accomplished.

The Blazers edged out Penn for the NIC title, winning several events on the way.

"We were close the last few years, and we've had some great battles with Penn the last few years," said Balch. "My boys just executed perfectly. They wanted it so bad and their enthusiasm was incredible tonight."

While the Penn boys fell just short, the girls team did capture an NIC title earlier in the week.

At the boys meet, St. Joe, Mishawaka and Riley rounded out the top five in overall team scores.