Men's Cross Country | 10/18/2014 1:01:00 PM

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

WINNECONE, Wis. (Oct. 18, 2014) - A 45-team field which included 12 nationally-ranked programs from two of the NCAA's three divisions was decimated by the North Central College men's cross country team on Saturday, as the Cardinals' top seven finishers put more than 600 competitors in their rear view and won in decisive fashion at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh AAE Invitational at Lake Breeze Golf Course.

Entering the meet as the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division III team in the land, North Central totaled just 36 points to top runner-up Grand Valley State University's (Michigan) total of 69. Grand Valley is currently ranked second nationally at the NCAA Division II level and had beaten the Cardinals on Oct. 3 at the Notre Dame Invitational. The Division III No. 3-ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was a distant third with 140 points, followed by Division II No. 8 Augustana College (South Dakota) with 154 and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside with 181.

As it did at Notre Dame, the individual competition boiled down to a race between Grand Valley's Alan Peterson and the Cardinals' Troy Kelleher. Peterson, a winner by 15 seconds last time around, managed another victory by covering the 8,000-meter (five-mile) course in 24 minutes, 32.9 seconds, though Kelleher was hot on his heels in 24:35.3 after a strong closing last kilometer.

North Central's Travis Morrison and Ryan Root also finished in the top 10 of the 653-finisher field, placing seventh (24:44.8) and eighth (24:45.9), respectively. Aron Sebhat placed 11th (24:48.6) and was followed closely by teammate Zach Plank, who completed the Cardinals' scoring by taking 12th in 24:48.7. Ben Dickshinski finished 19th (24:56.0) and Tim Vazquez placed 22nd (24:56.7). North Central's 13-second gap from its first to its fifth finisher was its smallest of the season and was less than half of nearly any every other team's in the field.

The Cardinals are idle until the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur, Illinois.