With an unprecedented five All American finishers, North Central College’s men’s cross country team set team and individual records at the NCAA Division III Nationals cross country championships.

The team scored a mere 32 points, in comparison with the previous record of 51, held jointly by the NCC class of ’82 and St. Thomas’ 1986 team.

Winning his third individual national championship and setting an individual course record over Grinnell’s five-mile Oakland Acres Golf Course was senior captain Dan Mayer in a time of 24.29. Close on Mayer’s heels was sophomore whiz kid John Weigel, who improved on his 50th-place performance from last year by placing second.  Weigel, on catching his teammate and mentor with a half mile to go, reassured Mayer that he didn’t want the individual title.

“When I caught him,” says Weigel, “I told him not to worry.  I said that I wasn’t going to pass him, and that he deserved it a hell of a lot more than I did.”

One alumni observed that it was a fitting twist on the running relationship that Mayer and Weigel have shared over the past two years at North Central. Last year at the conference track meet, Mayer and alumni Derron Bishop conceded to a freshman Weigel the 5,000-meter victory in the homestretch. This time it was Weigel’s turn to conceded victory to the elder Mayer.

“I never would have been where I am now without Mayer,” said Weigel.  “I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Close behind were juniors Brian Henz and Jims Dickerson, who finished in fifth and sixth, respectively. The Peoria-bred duo, who have been competitive with each other since they were fierce rivals in high school, used what Dickerson called a “symbiotic” relationship to spur each other to new heights this year.

Rounding out the scoring for the Cardinals and sneaking into the final All-American position was mop-haired freshman Matt Brill in 25th place. Brill was as shocked as anyone at his performance.

“I really didn’t expect this,” said Brill as his teammates mobbed him at the finish line. “Besides the time when Jim Spivey [two-time U.S. Olympian] almost spit on me, this has to be the single greatest moment of my life.”

Dan Iverson and Chuck Hoff placed 34th and 47th for the Cardinals.

As the official results were being tabulated, the North Central contingency, which included school trustees, administrators, alumni, parents, and students, was already celebrating victory. Huddled in a circle, the supporters alternately hugged, cried, shouted, and chanted “NCC.”

“The feeling is just incredible,” said coach Al Carius, who had just seen his team win the national championship for the ninth time. Caruis added, “this is an experience that the younger generation is privileged to be a part of.  It’s hard to convey the emotion that we’ve see here to a team that hasn’t experience the thrill of victory itself.  The underclassmen will take this with them and pass it on to future generations.”

Although the results were the same for the team in ’92 and ’93, the atmosphere was very different for the two championship teams. The victory celebration was a marked contrast to the gloomy mood that prevailed immediately after the ’92 meet. One Cardinal runner described the tone after last year’s championship as “like a funeral.”

Todd Radecky, Cardinal coach who ran for last year’s team, explained the difference as follows: “Last year it was so close, we didn’t know whether we’d won until the awards ceremony several hours later.”

So how did North Central turn last year's squeaker, a race won by a seven-point margin over Rochester (NY) into a literal blowout, trouncing second-place Lacrosse by over 90 points?

Senior All-American Rob Harvey cited a difference in leadership as the main factor in the team’s improvement.

“Last year the only person on the team who really knew what it took to win a national championship was Derron Bishop. This year, we had all been through it. There was more cooperative leadership rather than one person with all the answers.”

Several members of the team attributed the team’s improvement to increased confidence and maturity as well as added experience.

Mayer said, “This year, honestly, I don’t think there were many people who thought the meet would be close.”

The team has now been riding a two-year wave of success which it hopes to carry over into the track season, when it will be hosting the upcoming meet.

“This year, unlike in past years, we won’t be leaving anyone home. Everyone can share in the championships.”

- excerpt from NCC Chronicle (January, 1994)
information provided by the College Archives