Patience and persistence provided a path to prosperity for Rich Scopp ’89. His years of diligent effort ended up pushing him and the North Central College men’s track and field program to unprecedented heights.
Initially connected to North Central through academic pursuits, he soon came into contact with Cardinal Head Coach Al Carius, with whom he forged an instant connection.
“The first time I had heard of North Central was through taking the standardized exams in high school,” Scopp said. “North Central had contacted me through academic channels. I had planned to pursue running in college, and the minute I had the opportunity to meet Al and some of the other runners, it was kind of a no-brainer.”
Competing with both the cross country and track and field teams, Scopp came to embrace the high-mileage philosophy to which the programs have long adhered, even though he typically competed in middle-distance events on the track.
“Without that type of training, I never would have been able to achieve the success that I did,” he said. “I wouldn’t consider myself to have been a guy with blazing speed, so I needed all that strength to be successful and sustain my top speed for as long as possible.”
Scopp was a contributor right away, advancing to the finals in the 1,500-meter run at the 1986 outdoor national championships as a freshman before helping the cross country squad to a third-place finish in the 1986 National Championships that fall. After helping lead North Central to a national championship in cross country in 1987, he emerged to claim his first All-America honors on the track by placing fifth in the 800-meter run at the 1988 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships.
The Cardinals placed third in the meet, their highest finish at an indoor national meet to that point. After winning a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) title at 1,500 meters that outdoor season, Scopp again secured All-America accolades with a second-place showing in the 1,500 at the Division III Outdoor Championships. North Central once again finished third overall and began to set its collective sights higher up the awards stand.
“We got third in both indoor and outdoor, and I think that set the stage for what we did the next year,” Scopp said. “It unlocked some limits in our minds to what was possible.
“I don’t ever recall a conversation about winning nationals. Our focus has always been to compete the best you can, and if that means we win, we win. It drives you to focus more on what you can control, which is your performance. There’s an unspoken understanding that there are high standards. If you look at the effort people put in, it’s obvious we’re there to win, but we don’t really talk about it.”
Scopp placed 12th at the 1988 Division III Cross Country Championships to snag another All-America award as the Cardinals placed second overall. At the 1989 indoor nationals, he turned in a fourth-place finish in the 800 to make him one of 11 North Central athletes to earn All-America honors in the meet. The Cardinals easily outdistanced the rest of the field to win their first team national championship in track and field.
North Central repeated the feat at the 1989 outdoor championships, which it hosted in Naperville. Scopp’s effort proved pivotal to the outcome, as his win in the 1,500 put the Cardinals in front for good as they completed a sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles.
“In a program like North Central, to be able to do anything for the first time is pretty remarkable,” said Scopp, whose personal-best time of three minutes, 47.8 seconds in the 1,500 stood as a school record for more than 25 years. “It probably opened the door for other successful athletes to join the program, and I also really believe it unlocks people’s perceptions of what they can do. It’s something I’m really proud of.”
