Men's Cross Country | 11/25/2014 12:51:00 PM

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

Nov. 25, 2014 - North Central College head men's cross country coach Al Carius has been voted the 2014 NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), giving him the association's highest coaching honor for the ninth time in the 22 years since the award's inception.

Carius received the award for the fourth time in the past six seasons after the Cardinals claimed their 16th Division III national championship on Saturday at The Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Despite having three competitors fall in the first few minutes on the muddy, treacherous layout, North Central gained several positions in the final two kilometers to post a winning score of 130 points, 13 clear of defending national champion St. Olaf College (Minnesota).

Having just completed his 49th year as the Cardinals' head coach, Carius has taken North Central to every one of the 42 Division III National Championships that have been contested since the NCAA split into three divisions in 1973. The Cardinals have placed first or second in the last seven Division III national meets and 31 of 42 overall.

North Central also won its 41st consecutive College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) championship and its seventh straight Midwest Region championship in 2014. The Cardinals have won 48 CCIW titles and 27 regional crowns in their history.