Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
(written by Emily Zadny, Student Sports Information Assistant)
National Championship Meet Information
Nov. 17, 2016 - Already claiming its 43rd consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship and 28th NCAA Division III Midwest Region Championship, the North Central College men's cross country team is ready to take on the third and final challenge of the championship season this weekend at the NCAA Division III National Championship.
The Cardinals posted a perfect score 15 points at the CCIW Championships on October 29 to earn the program's 50th conference title. This past weekend, the team placed four of its seven runners in the top eight, scoring 37 points to claim the regional title and one of two automatic qualifying spots. The No. 4-ranked University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire placed second with a score of 91 and earned the second automatic qualifying spot for the Midwest Region.
"When you look at any particular race, you look at the whole season," said head coach Al Carius on his team's performance. "It started a long time ago and it all accumulates with every practice, every meet and every step they take. This meet was reinforcement for us that we are taking the right steps to where we want to be. It was a qualifier for us to get to the national championship and we accomplished that."
Zach Plank led North Central across the line, finishing second-overall with a season-best time of 24:19.3. Dhruvil Patel, Ethan Adlfinger, and Al Baldonado followed in fifth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Zach Hird rounded out the scoring for the Cardinals in 15th and Omar Gomez and Dan O'Keefe finished 17th and 25th.
North Central enters the championship as the unanimous top-ranked team in the nation, looking to win its 17th team national championship. The Cardinals have been ranked first or second in 70 of the last 76 national polls and has been ranked first in 61 of the 91 polls the USTFCCCA has released.
The Division III National Championship will be held on Saturday at E.P Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The men's race begins at noon Eastern time and live video of the competition can be accessed by clicking HERE.
