North Central College Athletics

Bob Dunphey ’85 had not even enrolled at North Central College when he learned of the expectations he would face as a member of the Cardinals’ men’s cross country program.

“That was a big reason why I came,” he says. “They let me know right out of the blocks. I came to North Central on a recruiting visit and I met Dale Koepnick ’82, one of the captains, and Jay Rogers ’84, who was a returning All-American. They said, ‘Hi, it’s nice to meet you, our goal is to win the 1981 national championship, and if you’re interested, well, come on.’”

Inspired by the lofty goals of his future teammates, he chose to embrace the challenge and wound up becoming a standard-bearer for consistency across a four-year collegiate career.

Right from the start, Dunphey assumed a key role in the success the Cardinals would enjoy the next four years. He placed ninth at the Division III National Championships as a freshman (the first North Central runner to cross the line) to lead the team to the title. He returned in 1982 to place fourth overall, once again pacing the Cardinals to a national crown, then placed seventh at the national meet in 1983 and fifth in 1984 as North Central placed second both years.

Dunphey is one of just 14 Division III harriers to earn All-America honors four times, and is one of just two to place in the top 10 each year. His consistency carried over to success in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) competition, as he placed in the top three at the CCIW Cross Country Championships each of his four years, helping lead the Cardinals to the team title each time.

Dunphey achieved a pair of All-America honors in outdoor track and field, placing sixth in the 10,000-meter run at the 1983 outdoor national championships and fifth in the same event the following year. His personal-best time of 30:04.4 in the 10,000 ranks sixth all-time at North Central, as does his 5,000-meter best of 14:26.0.

Looking back on his individual achievements, Dunphey is quick to point out that his drive to succeed-and that of his teammates-was grounded in the belief that the accomplishments of the team came first.

“People think of running as an individual sport, and to an extent it is, but when you focus on team accomplishments, that’s when you see the great individual performances come out. My expectations as far as team camaraderie and achievement were far exceeded, and because we focused on that, I was able to achieve some nice individual successes along the way.

“I owe a lot to Al Carius and the rest of the coaching staff, as well as my teammates. Many of them are still my best friends and mentors to this day.”