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Results
WARRENVILLE, Ill. (Nov. 2, 2013) - Already owning a winning streak longer than any of its members' lives, the North Central College men's cross country team nevertheless took the course like a team with something to prove Saturday at the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championships, and the Cardinals wound up turning in a performance for the ages at St. James Farm.
North Central claimed nine of the top 10 individual finishes and made off with the team championship for the 40th consecutive year, the longest conference title streak in all of collegiate cross country. The Cardinals notched a perfect score of 15 for the seventh time in their history, giving head coach Al Carius his 44th CCIW crown in his 48-year tenure.
"What feels really, really good is not the 40th in a row, although that's wonderful and there have been a lot of great memories," Carius said. "What really feels good is today. We tell the guys to live in the moment, to live in the now, and that's what I'm doing right now. I'm elated with how well we are running right now and how well we performed as a team today."
North Central's John Crain made it a one-man race for the individual title right from the start, separating himself early and cruising home for a first-place finish in a time of 24 minutes, 20.80 seconds on the 8,000-meter (five-mile) course. His win gives North Central the CCIW individual championship for the fourth straight year and the 32nd in the history of the program.
"I kind of wanted to take out the race harder, just to get used to what nationals is probably going to feel like," Crain said. "We wanted to make it a tough race right from the gun, because we consider ourselves one of the toughest teams in the nation, and today I think we showed that's what we are.
"In my senior year, to win individually and as a team for Al's 40th in a row, that's something special. I couldn't be happier. No one deserves it more than him."
Crain's teammates took care of the rest, as seven more Cardinals finished ahead of the rest of the competition. Roger Klein crossed the line second in 24:51.18, followed by Aron Sebhat (24:59.29), Tim Hird (25:00.67), Ben Dickshinski (25:03.47), Ryan Root (25:03.49), Mitch Gilbert (25:04.52) and David Weber (25:04.80). Troy Kelleher added a 10th-place finish in 25:24.91.
"I thought the results were outstanding," Carius said. "We knew that the course was muddy and wet, and knew that could affect some people, but as we've progressed throughout the year we've gained more and more consistency and stability, and the performances have been outstanding. To have this kind of a finish with so many guys that close is outstanding for our team. I'm proud of how the guys ran. It was a very, very strong team performance."
For Crain, the team's effort was one more step in the direction he and the team have been chasing since August, as the Cardinals look to leave their mark as one of the great teams in the program's storied history.
"I think this is a great momentum builder," he said. "Today, we were a great team. We were the team we've been talking about all season. We've just got to continue doing that day after day."
The Cardinals travel to Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday, Nov. 16 for the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Championships. North Central will be seeking its sixth straight regional team title.
