For North Central College track and field coach Al Carius and his staff, the 1989 outdoor track and field championship won by the Cardinals in May was the culmination of 24 years of hard work.

The men’s track and field team scored 66 points at the NCAA Division III National Track and Field Championships at Kroehler Field to win its first outdoor track and field title.

Carius, a veteran of seven national cross country championships and one indoor national track and field championship, took the opportunity to thank the legions of people who have contributed to the track and field program since he arrived on campus in 1965.

“The program has come a long way, “ Carius said, “and a lot of people deserve credit.  This championship is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication to the sport of track and field.”

Hard work and dedication paid off for several North Central athletes, whose efforts contributed points to the team’s championship total. The Cardinals were in a tight race with Lincoln University (Pa.) for the national title, but pulled away from the Lions on the last day of the four-day competition. After Lincoln tied the team score at 48, senior Rich Scopp (Brookfield, Wis.) put the Cardinals ahead for good with a win in the 1,500-meter run.  The Lions, with 58 points, had to settle for second place for the fourth consecutive year.

Besides Scopp, one other North Central athlete earned national champion status. Freshman Jan Cado (Czechoslovakia) led the Cardinals with first-place finishes in both the long and triple jumps. Cado won the long jump with a leap of 25-5 ¼ and set an NCAA Division III record with his 55-4 ¾ . Cado was also part of North Central’s 4x100-meter relay team which finished fourth in 41.99. Cado’s teammates on the relay team were juniors Shawn Welti (Kewanee, Ill.) and Pete Bartelson (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and senior Phil Malone (Chicago, Ill.).

Welti, the 1988 NCAA outdoor champion in the long jump, had to settle for sixth place this year. His jump of 23-7 ¼ contributed three points to North Central’s team score.

Senior John Collet (Highland, Ind.) earned 11 points for North Central cause. For the second consecutive year, Collet finished runner-up in the 10,000-meter run. This year he did it in 31:13.06. Collet scored his other points in the 5,000-meter run, where he finished sixth in 14:51.22.

Senior Dan Baker (Camden, Ill.) finished second for the Cardinals in the 800 meters in 1:51.58, and he was part of the 4x400-meter relay team which finished fourth in 3:13.93. His teammates on that relay were freshman Harold McCadd (Chicago, Ill.), junior Jim VanHootegem (Kewanee, Ill.) and senior Joe Plutz. Baker’s cousin, junior Bill Toland (Rushville, Ill.), also added to North Central’s point total, scoring four in the pole vault competition. Toland cleared 15-5 to take fifth place.

The championship wrapped up a successful year for Carius, whose track and field team also won the 1989 NCAA Division III National Indoor Track and Field Championship in March. Carius’ cross country squad finished second at the NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championships in November.

- excerpt from North Central NOW (Spring, 1989)
information provided by the College Archives