Sports

NCC Cross Country Faces First Real Test

Gauging Cardinals progress toward nationals begins Friday.

When freshmen cross country runners first step foot on campus at and head coach Al Carius gets a hold of them, it can be culture shock.

For many of the new recruits, high school's over in more than a physical sense. Days of being the star, standing out in the crowd (or pack, as cross country goes), finishing fast and often first are over.

And then Carius tells them: Don't worry about it.

"This is critically important I think for anybody, and that is not to worry about their outcome, not to worry about their place, not to worry about their time, not to worry about their comparison with anybody else," Carius said. "It's a hard thing in this society for young people to buy into, but we evaluate them by their attitude, by their commitment, by their discipline, by their work ethic and by their team dynamic."

This attitude played out at the Aurora University Invitational on Sept. 9 when freshman Cardinals experienced their first collegiate meet. They finished fourth of 15 teams. It's bound to surface in some form, to some degree again with the veteran Cardinals on Friday when they measure themselves in their first real test of the year — the Illinois Intercollegiate Invitational at Weibring Golf Course in Normal.

There, the Cardinals will be running as the No. 1 team in the nation, according to the first regular season NCAA Division III National Coaches' Top 35 Poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Cardinals picked up an additional first-place vote in the Week 1 poll, securing all eight No. 1 nods to remain the nation's top squad, amassing 280 points. , the 2010 national runner-up, was the top ranked team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason poll released in August.

But the goal to avenge last year's second-place finish by winning the national championship this year, has to start somewhere. The Cardinals need a starting point, a place for personal growth to bud, which Carius emphasizes and is crucial to reaching the most desired outcomes. And it all stems back to freshman year.

"For me it was (a culture shock) because I came from a program where it was basically just me out there every single day running out there on the road by myself," said junior Matt Perez, a Hanover Park native and Hoffman Estates High School graduate. "Then I came here and then I realized there was something much bigger than myself, and it was something that I got to be a part of, you know, getting to run with those guys. It was, like, overwhelming for me."

Perez went so far as saying doubts crept in, thoughts of possibly not being cut out for 's top-notch program. Anemia issues, injuries and questioning oneself affected Perez. Adjustments were made, mind and body, and Perez represents one of many who have made a successful transition under Carius.

Cardinals senior Neal Klein said his freshman year was a shock, too, but a good one, adding that he didn't even know the team concept existed because he was really the only runner of his caliber at Streamwood High School.

"My freshman year before I started, I just knew no matter what I did, I wasn't going to be ready to run with the top guys," Klein said. "And that just motivates me more to run more, run harder, run faster because I knew everything I would do I wasn't going to be where they were. And I was OK with that, because I knew they were gonna do something great my freshman year."

This year's freshmen can be thinking the same thing.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here