Muncie, Ind., is the home of Ball State, the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame and the Midwest College Club Cross Country Championship.
The Northwestern running club sent seven men and six women to compete in the race, held last Sunday at the Prairie Creek Reservoir.
Going into the race, the athletes had no idea what type of competition — or even what type of course — they were to face.
“This was the first time the NU running club competed as a team,” club president Drew Austin said. “We didn’t know what to expect from the other clubs we competed against.”
The NU runners found a course with dense grass, fallen leaves and multiple hills. A nagging headwind and lactic acid were their constant companions.
The men finished seventh out of 10 teams. Freshman David Morrison paced the team with a 29th place finish, completing the 5,000-meter course in 19:37.
For the most part, the Wildcats ran as a team, with their last scoring runner finishing only 12 places and 45 seconds behind Morrison.
The Cats finished ahead of Illinois and Illinois State, making them the unofficial Illinois running club champions.
The women also finished seventh, and sophomore Marielle Gilbert led her team with a time of 23:31, placing 25th. The women’s scoring runners were more spread out, finishing within 15 places and 1:50 of each other.
“I’m definitely proud of all the NU runners,” senior Mike Wong said. “The course was very difficult, and there were some great runners out there.”
Michigan won the men’s race and Ohio State the women’s, and received their trophies from a site fitting the prestigious nature of the race: the flatbed of a Ford Ranger.
Even though the NU running club emerged without any hardware, club brass agree it was a successful weekend, one that drew the competitors closer together.
“We had a great time going to the race as a team,” Austin said. “And we found out how we stacked up against the running clubs at other Big Ten schools.
Wong, who worked in tandem with Austin to pull the trip together, said he is proud he got the opportunity to represent his school in another locale.
“It was refreshing to just feel like I was on a team again,” he said. “It was great to hear someone yell, ‘Go Northwestern,’ and know they were cheering for you.”
On thin ice
Both the men’s and women’s hockey clubs were in action last weekend. The men split two home games, thrashing Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 9-3, and falling to Missouri, 6-2.
The women faltered on hostile ice, losing two games at Quad Cities, 3-2 and 2-1.
Both team’s seasons are seven games old. The men are 5-2-0, including a 2-2-0 mark in their conference. Last weekend’s setbacks dropped the women’s record to 2-3-2.
Senior forward Christine Brooks leads the women with four goals and seven points. Sophomore forward Jozef Murar leads the men’s team with 11 goals and 20 points through the first third of the season.
The men play Marquette in Highland Park, Ill., this Friday, and then travel to Kenosha, Wis., Saturday for another run-in with the Golden Eagles.
The women play Team Glacier on Friday at the Robert Crown Ice Center in Evanston.
Reach David Morrison at
