November 18, 2007
Contact: Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevich@concentric.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
World Wide Web: www.carthage.edu
Men’s Cross Country Finishes Eighth at NCAA Regional;
Red Men’s Michael White Finishes 63rd at NCAA Nationals
Carthage’s Michael White 63rd at NCAA Nationals: Carthage College men’s cross country runner Michael White (Sr., New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) qualified to compete in the Nov. 17 NCAA Division III Cross Country championship as an individual. White finished 63rd at the national event, which was conducted at the St. Olaf College Skoglund Athletic Fields in Northfield, Minn., with a time of 25:34. The top-35 individual finishers earn NCAA Division III All-America honors. New York University won the national championship with 128 points, 22 points ahead of second-place Haverford College at 150. White was only the second Carthage cross country runner to qualify for the NCAA championship. Al Stiefel finished 59th at the 1965 NCAA College Division Cross Country Championship and 19th at the same event in 1969.
2007 NCAA Midwest Regional: The Carthage College men’s cross country team (75-45) finished eighth at the Nov. 10 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis. Wisconsin-La Crosse won the 35-team championship event with 70 points, six points ahead of second-place Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 76. CCIW-member North Central College was third at 118, followed by conference-member Augustana College (Ill.) fourth at 152, Wisconsin-Platteville fifth at 178, CCIW-member Wheaton College (Ill.) sixth at 210, Washington University (Mo.) seventh at 227 and Carthage eighth with 276 points. The eighth-place finish was the best-ever for the Red Men at the regional level.
2007 CCIW Championship: Carthage finished fifth at the 2007 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Cross Country Championship at Maxwell Park in Bloomington, Ill. North Central College won its 41st conference title and its 34th in a row with 37 points, 25 points ahead of both Wheaton College (Ill.) and Augustana College (Ill.) at 62 each. Elmhurst College was fourth at 108, followed by Carthage fifth at 114, Millikin University sixth at 180, Illinois Wesleyan University seventh at 207 and North Park University eighth with 251 points.
The Coach: Brett Witt is in his seventh year as head coach in 2007 (510-304-1, 7 years) after serving as an assistant coach for both the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
The Conference: The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, in its 62nd year in 2007-08, has sponsored men's cross country as a championship sport since 1960. North Central College has dominated the sport since then, winning 41 league titles thru 2007, including the last 34 in a row. Carthage won CCIW championships in 1966, 1967 and 1973. North Central has won every year since 1973.
2007 CCIW Championship Notes: Brandon Mull from Wheaton (Ill.) won the 8K race at the Oct. 27 CCIW Men’s Cross Country championship with a time of 25:02.49. Carthage’s Michael White (Sr., New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) earned All-CCIW honors with a fourth-place finish and a time of 25:26.12. Michael Bubolz (Sr., Reedsville, Wis./Kiel) was 23rd at 26:27.97, Justin Sebens (Fr., Seymour, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) 33rd at 27:00.47, Joel Brunner (Jr., De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) 34th at 27:02.52, and Tylor Lewis (So., Waterford, Wis./Union) finished 39th with a 27:23.91 mark. Also finishing for the Red Men were Sean O’Connor (Jr., Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic) 45th at 27:51.89, Tyler Wishau (So., Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) 48th at 28:14.64, Will Stanko (Fr., Bridgeview, Ill./Oak Lawn) 53rd at 28:34.79, Steven Horn (Fr., Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) 59th at 29:18.39 and Josh Solorio (Fr., West Allis, Wis./Milwaukee-West Allis Central) 65th at 29:45.41.
2007 CCIW Open Race Results: Carthage’s Brandon Morreale (Sr., Sycamore, Ill.) finished 37th in the open-race portion of the Oct. 27 CCIW championship with a time of 29:05.26. Kenton Rauwerdink (Jr., Hingham, Wis./Oostburg) was 66th at 30:28.74, Joe Stubenvoll (So., Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) 67th at 30:32.99, Bill Quade (Fr., Lindenhurst, Ill./Lake Villa-Lakes Community) 74th at 31:04.00, John Morehouse (Fr., Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) 79th at 31:25.31, Austin Twomey (Fr., Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth-Roseville) 87th at 31:51.90, Nick Colona (Fr., East Alton, Ill./East Alton-Wood River) 94th at 32:50.78 and Adam Backsmeier (Sr., Bloomington, Ill.) 96th with a time of 34:04.46.
2007 NCAA Midwest Regional Results: Tyler Sigl from Wisconsin-Platteville won individual honors at the 2007 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship with a time of 24:01.06. Carthage’s Michael White (Sr., New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) earned all-regional honors by finishing 13th with a career-best time of 24:45.96. Michael Bubolz (Sr., Reedsville, Wis./Kiel) was also all-regional with a 20th-place finish and a career-best time of 24:54.97. Justin Sebens (Fr., Seymour, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) was 79th at 25:56.53, Sean O’Connor (Jr., Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic) 81st with a career-best time of 26:05.83, and Joel Brunner (Jr., De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) finished 83rd with a career-best time of 26:08.46. Also finishing for Carthage were Tylor Lewis (So., Waterford, Wis./Union) 112th at 26:44.45 and Tyler Wishau (So., Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) 148th at 27:28.53.