The AU Men's Cross-Country team finally returned to the national stage after a 33-year absence, placing 20th in the NCAA Championships on Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Eagles qualified to be part of the 30-team field by finishing second in the Mid-Atlantic regional meet on Nov. 13 in State College, Pa.
Also at the championships, AU Women's Cross-Country runner Keira Carlstrom finished 17th out of a field of 250 individuals, finishing the 6-kilometer race in 20:49.8. Carlstrom also qualified for the championships in Sate College, taking second place at that regional in a time of 20:37.
"It's definitely a different feeling," Carlstrom said of running solo in the large field. "The difference between the guys' team and me was I had to find the motivation within myself ... to do well for myself and represent AU.
"I'm happy with [my performance]," she said. "I did best I could on that day. It was a tough race, with tough conditions. I came out about the same place as last time."
For both the men's team and Carlstrom, the performances, on a cold, murky late-fall afternoon, fall one place short of school records for place finish.
Carlstrom holds the women's record for highest finish, which she set at last year's national meet, finishing 16th. Meanwhile, the men's team fell one place short of the 1971 team's 19th-place showing. That was AU's only other NCAA Championship team appearance.
For the men, senior Pat MacAdie finished highest, placing 55th in the field of 242 with a time of 32:04. The men's team slightly exceeded expectations, as it entered the meet ranked No. 21 in the nation.
"Teamwise, I think we could've done better," MacAdie said. "But it's a good experience for all the other guys who are going to be back next year. It's a little bit overwhelming. It was the biggest race I've ever been in in my life.
"We didn't take to much stock in the rankings before hand," he continued. "We knew if we ran well we could be a top-15 team. But 20th isn't bad."
Behind MacAdie, freshman Stephen Hallinan placed second, finishing in 32:40. AU's other three scoring runners were junior Pat Buford, senior Sean Duffy and sophomore Brendan Fennell, who finished 137th, 153rd and 164th, all within 17 seconds of each other, and all under 40 seconds behind Hallinan.
Senior Matt Barresi also ran for AU, finishing out of the scoring in 228th. While both Barresi and MacAdie still have the indoor and outdoor seasons to look forward to, they are now done with their cross-country careers.
"It hasn't really sunk in that it's the last race yet," MacAdie said. "It went by really quick this whole season, maybe because we were doing so well. It's kind of crazy that it's over, but there are always more races to run and prepare for."
MacAdie will likely run the 3000-meter and 5000-meter indoors, before competing in the 5000m and 10,000m during the outdoor season, which Macadie said takes priority over the winter campaign. Meanwhile, AU head coach Matt Centrowitz is giving his runners a bit of time to recuperate from the fall, MacAdie said.
Carlstrom is also looking forward to the indoor and outdoor seasons, but will also be excited to return for her final cross-country season next fall.
"Cross country is so pure because everyone is running the same race and concentrating on same things," Carlstrom said. "The whole team usually is in there racing, it's a whole different feeling.
"But I'm still excited to get into track though, and to outdoor track"
