FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Results

HANOVER, Ind. (Sept. 7, 2013) - The top competitors for the North Central College men's cross country team took the course for the first time on Saturday and affirmed the Cardinals' status as the No. 1 NCAA Division III team in the nation, rolling to a comfortable victory in the Hanover College Madison Kiwanis Invitational at the L.S. Ayres Sports Complex.

Competing on the course which will host the NCAA Division III National Championships in November, the top-ranked Cardinals had all 12 competing runners finish in the top 18 places individually and handily won the team competition with just 19 points. 

Ohio Northern University was the closest pursuer with 84 points, while Otterbein University totaled 110 to place third. The 23rd-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point was fourth (124), while 24th-ranked Wabash College finished fifth (126).

John Crain took control early in the 8,000-meter (five-mile) race and cruised to the individual victory, hitting the finish line in 25 minutes, 36.6 seconds to secure a 15-second victory over Franklin University's Kris Sandlin. Roger Klein took third place in 26:04.8, followed closely by teammates Ben Dickshinski (26:05.3) and Ryan Root (26:05.4).

Tim Hird completed North Central's team scoring with a sixth-place finish (26:12.9), while Travis Morrison (eighth, 26:25.4), Troy Kelleher (26:26.2) and Matt Brinkmeier (26:30.8) also cracked the top 10.

The Cardinals will take part in the Illinois State University Invitational on Friday, while also sending a contingent to the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships at Olivet Nazarene University the same day. Both races are set to start at 5:45 p.m.