Hall of Fame
As the first female athlete to earn All-America honors in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field at North Central College, Paula Monk '92 Svora was able to combine self-confidence with four years of sustained hard work and compile a list of accomplishments few have been able to match.
She entered college without the expectation of success on the national level, but was encouraged by early signs of improvement and continued to progress while focusing primarily on individual development.
“I didn't have any expectations at first, but I saw myself improving and I set my sights higher,” she said. “I was lucky that Eric (Simon '86) was my coach. I was dedicated and worked hard, and I got better each year.
“I always had great support from my teammates and my family, even before I got to college. I never had someone tell me I couldn't do something. It made me believe in myself.”
After contributing to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Outdoor Track & Field titles her first two years, Svora came in second at the CCIW Cross Country Championships as a junior before qualifying for her first national championship meet.
“My breakthrough was the regional cross country race my junior year,” she said. “It didn't feel any different from a normal race. That was the moment for me that I knew I could compete at that level.”
The following spring, Svora won a CCIW individual championship at 5,000 meters, then finished fifth in the 5,000 at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships to receive her first All-America certificate.
“It's really emotional when you work so hard for something and then achieve it,” she said of her first All-America selection. “It's just a sense of satisfaction that the hard work has paid off. It makes you realize you can do anything if you set your mind to it. That's what I picked up, that if you're passionate about something and you're willing to work for it you can do just about anything.”
As a senior, Svora stepped up her effort yet again. She won a CCIW individual title in cross country before placing 18th at the Division III Cross Country Championships to earn All-America honors once again. She then placed fourth at the Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 5,000 before winning CCIW championships at 3,000 and 5,000 meters as the Cardinals won their third CCIW team title in four years. At the Outdoor National Championships, she was the national runner-up at 10,000 meters and concluded her collegiate career with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000.
Svora graduated as the holder of four North Central records: the indoor 5,000 (17:26.4) and 4x800-meter relay (9:50.9) and the outdoor 5,000 (17:27.2) and 10,000 (36:04.25). She is the sixth North Central Athletic Hall of Fame inductee to have competed in track and field and the first to have also competed in cross country.
“It's really exciting,” she said of her selection. “There have been a lot of great athletes who have been at North Central so it's a real honor.”
