North Central College’s historic sweep of the 2009-2010 men’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field national championships was led in part by Kyle Brady ‘10, a key figure in the Cardinals’ resurgence to the top of the NCAA Division III pecking order and the only member of the program to compete in all three national meets.
Brady came to North Central amid a turbulent time for the men’s cross country program, which placed 12th in the 2005 national championship after finishing among the top four for 24 straight seasons. In his first season on campus, Brady was among the seven competitors at the 2006 national meet as North Central placed 13th, and was the Cardinals’ third finisher in the 2007 finals where the team placed 16th.
“The normal routine at North Central calls for you to learn from the upperclass athletes, as far as the process, how you train and how you go about your business,” Brady said. “We had to figure some of that out on our own. I had a really good freshman class with me, so we were able to go through it together. I took about two years to figure out how to move forward together, but it made our bond a little stronger because of what we went through.”
After winning his first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) individual championship in the 10,000-meter run in 2008, Brady won the CCIW cross country title and help lead the Cardinals to a second-place showing at the national meet that fall. The 2009 track & field season saw Brady win CCIW titles and claim All-America honors in the indoor and outdoor 5,000-meter events as well as the 10,000.
Heading into the 2009-2010 academic year, the Cardinals had national championship aspirations, though open discussion of those goals was rare.
"Al talks about that a lot as ‘the knowing,’” Brady said. “When you’re younger it helps to talk about those things more, but eventually you just focus on the action.”
The Cardinals made no contest of the 2009 cross country championship, as all seven entrants placed among the top 35 finishers to claim All-America honors. North Central scored just 50 points and set a meet record with a 131-point margin of victory.
“We didn’t really talk about it, but we expected to win handily,” said Brady, who placed fifth on the team and 21st overall. “When I crossed the finish line, I knew no other team could be close, and to see all seven of our runners become All-Americans was pretty special, too.”
Brady’s first individual national title helped lock up the Cardinals’ 2010 indoor track and field championship. Taking part in the 5,000-meter run, Brady bided his time in the middle of the field before a strong move in the final mile brought him to the front of the field. He finished nearly two seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
“I had run three nationals races the previous year, and those races are all about tactics,” Brady said. “It was one of the last events, so I had some extra motivation running for the team as well as myself.”
Brady concluded his career by winning the 10,000 and placing third in the 5,000 at the 2010 outdoor championship. The 10,000 was won through a combined effort with teammate Michael Spain ‘11, who placed second after working with Brady to separate themselves from the field.
“The second half of the race, we were trading off the lead every 600 to 800 meters until no one was able to stay with us,” Brady said. “To finish my senior year winning three titles was pretty incredible.”
Brady, who served on the Cardinals’ coaching staff for eight years following graduation, still counts the lessons learned in the process of ascending to the national level competitively among the most important memories from his time as a student-athlete.
“You won’t necessarily remember your times or finishes as much as you remember the relationships and the way people make you feel,” he said. “Life lessons like patience, determination and consistency make running such an awesome sport, because they can make such a difference in life. When you break it down to those core values, you can be successful in anything.”
