After squeaking into the NCAA Cross Country National Championships on the 30th at-large bid out of 31, the members of the North Carolina men’s cross country team were ready to upend expectations.
Because they knew, better than anyone, that they were a better team than 30th.
And they proved it.
“We hit our goal. We wanted to be top 15,” senior Ryan Walling said. “We wanted to go in and surprise some teams, and overall I think that was what we did.”
The men placed 12th overall of the 31 at the national meet Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind., the team's second best finish in history. Walling led the team with a 48th place finish, missing out on All-American by eight spots.
“I was happy with it. I felt like I ran as hard as I could,” he said. “It was a little bittersweet, it being my last cross country season and missing All-American by a little bit, but I was really happy with how I fought for my guys and how we finished.”
Junior Stephen Mulherin and senior John Raneri finished next for the Tar Heels in 85th and 87th respectively. Senior Pat Schellberg and sophomore Mark Derrick rounded out the team score in 106th and 130th.
These seem like huge gaps between the runners, but the five runners finished within 46 seconds of each other — a testament to the competitive nature of nationals.