Throwback Thursday: Cross Country sweeps 1984 NCAAs

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PHOTO: Larry Russ (right), who passed away in 2014, coached UST to the 1984 and 1986 championships. At left is current coach Pete Wareham, a star runner in that era.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's Throwback Thursday travels back 36 years and spotlights the 1984 Tommie cross country teams celebrating their sweeps of the NCAA Division III team championships on the same day in Ohio.

Current St. Thomas women's head coach Joe Sweeney was early in his now 40-year career and saw his team edge favored UW-La Crosse.

Current Purple men's CC coach Pete Wareham placed third in the 1984 men's race to lead the Tommie men's championship victory over runner-up North Central (Ill.).

Here's a story that ran in late November 1984 in the Aquin student newspaper:

"Everything clicked. If ever you could think of a perfect prescription, I think we had it." — Dr. Larry Russ

"Winning both titles like this is very rare — it says a lot for the quality of St. Thomas' athletic programs." — Coach Joe Sweeney

By Gregory Schlichter / Aquin Sports Editor

You can cross the whole country and not find an NCAA Division III cross country team better than either one at St. Thomas.

As the sun was setting on their season at Ohio Wesleyan University a couple weeks ago, the St. Thomas men's and women's cross country teams were being crowned as the royalty of their sport in an unprecedented fashion.

"Everything clicked. If ever you could think of a perfect prescription, I think we had it," said Dr. Larry Russ, head coach of the men's team. "Other than North Central, we buried the competition."

The twin titles represent a complete dominance in cross country running for the Tommies. Their feat places them as the first NCAA varsity team ever to win a combined men's and women's championship.

"It was without a doubt, the greatest moment in my life," said women's cross country coach Joe Sweeney. "It was total pandemonium. I'll never forget it."

The St. Thomas men were pre-race favorites and lived up to those expectations by scoring 76 points, enough to cruise to their first national championship, 13 points ahead of North Central of Illinois, who tallied 89. Defending national champion Brandeis placed third, but was not a threat as they mustered 145 points. MIAC rival St. John's was edged out of third place by Brandeis, coming close to collecting a trophy with 148 points.

The women's team entered its race as heavy underdogs. They were competing against a top ranked UW-LaCrosse squad that soundly defeated them in a non-conference meet at the University of Minnesota in October.

"It wasn't difficult for us to pick out LaCrosse's uniforms out there," said Sweeney. As the women's race ended, it wasn't immediately apparent who had won. At the scoreboard, a crowd gathered as the officials began posting scores.

"It was LaCrosse, St. Thomas back and forth. Finally they totalled LaCrosse's score," said Sweeney. "It came down to our fifth runner (the last team runner scored), if her score was 34 or less we would win. When I saw that the first number was a two (meaning the St. Thomas runner had scored in the 20s), I jumped in the air."

Macalester's Julia Kirtland won the women's individual championship. Sarah Hintz finished first for the Tommies, fifth overall in 17:47.86. Junior Cindy Hennessy claimed ninth place for St. Thomas with an 18:08.93 finish, Laura Inderieden came in 16th with a time of 18:14.69, Moira Sweeney delivered an 18:22.49 time in 24th place, and Jennifer Schultz rounded out the Tommies' scoring in 30th place with an 18:37.18 finish.

"The key to our winning was our three seniors in the front five, who had been with the program from the time we started winning and who refused to settle for second place," said Sweeney. "It was just a combination of pride and emotion coming together to make it all happen."

Men Put Four in Top 26

For the men, Pete Wareham captured third place overall. Tom Faust was 11th with a 25:18 time, Nic Mancui was 18th at 25:24, Paul Thurmes finished 26th with a 25:31 time, and freshman John Bielinski placed 46th at 25:56.

"Everyone just did well, no one ran their best race of the season," said Wareham. "It was within ourselves. It didn't take a miracle to do it" Wareham didn't begin fast, getting caught in the back of the mass of 182 runners, and had to weave through packs of people to get to the front. "It was my hardest race all year. It was all uphill or downhill, I just couldn't get the rhythm," said Wareham. "But we won as a team, and that's more important than individually."

Manciu started the race out front, running with the pack of leaders on the hilly, 4.8 mile course, but was hindered running down hill. "I never ran very well in downhill so I tried to hold on as much as I could," he said.

Although Thurmes missed making all-American by a mere second, he provided one of the day's more inspired performances, steadily advancing after the mile mark. After about three miles, however, it became a struggle to keep up his pace. "I started dropping back a bit. This race I had to just fight and hang on," he said. "With a half mile left I was thinking 'I just had to finish.' I was really hurting."

"I can't say enough for Paul, he ran as fast and hard as he could," said Russ. "At the end he was completely spent, and although he came so close to making All-American he wasn't moaning afterwards. He's a class kid."

Seven Tommies did rate All-America, however. They included Wareham, Faust, Manciu, Hintz, Hennessy, Inderieden, and Sweeney.

Hennessy was apprehensive about the hilly course at the start of the race but came on strong in the last 200 yards, "I was tired, but found a little extra. I had a good kick and caught two runners at the end," she said. "Laura Inderieden caught one. We knew we had to have a really good race, and that everyone had to do their best."

Inderieden and Sweeney planned their race out carefully, starting with an easy pace building as they kept picking away at the field. "They took it easy and just used common sense," said Sweeney. "They're smart runners and came on fresh and strong through the difficult middle part of the course."

Jenni Schultz finished strong as well, placing 30th. She was 10 seconds away from becoming an All-American. A freshman, Schultz had bounced back from having the flu the week before, "She felt a lot of pressure being our last scorer. She produced more than you could ever expect from a freshman," said Sweeney.

It Takes a Village

The Tommies were encouraged by fans yelling "sty-U" (a Chippewa battle cry which means "Be strong") along the course and from personal trials the team had suffered throughout the season. "We've had a lot of setbacks this season," said Russ. "We drew a kind of strength from that. A measure of strength that we wouldn't have had. That came from pulling together and caring."

Marc Ostrowski was among the 15 supporters who made the 850-mile trip to Wesleyan to cheer on the Tommies. "The team is extremely close, we're almost like brothers really. Everybody wanted to do everything they could to contribute," he said. "The expression on Doc's face at the end made it all worthwhile."

Russ said the cheering section was another factor in the teams' success. "The sense of effort it took for them to come out there I'll never forget."

Russ also credited tri-captains Wareham, Mike Cogan, and Mike Ritter, and assistant coach Mike Palmquist.

"The captains were just three top-drawer kids, and coach Palmquist deserves equal credit with me. He's been able to keep the kids cool and their heads on straight all year," Russ said.

"Winning both titles like this is very rare — it says a lot for the quality of St. Thomas' athletic programs, especially our running program," added Sweeney. "It didn't happen by accident, they believed they could do it. The fact that they were underdogs just made them want it more."

St. Thomas CC History

Women: 5 national team crowns (1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987), four NCAA team runner-up placings... 13 consecutive top-6 national team placings from 1980-92... Lisa Koelfgen 1986 NCAA individual champ

Men: 10 top-5 NCAA team finishes (1984 and 1984 NCAA team champs... Nic Manciu 1982 NCAA individual champ... Ben Sathre 2011 NCAA individual champ... Manciu, Pete Wareham (1983) and Brian Smith (1983) all broke 24:00 for five miles and still rank among top 15 fastest times in NCAA meets

EDITOR'S NOTE: Five years ago, in November 2014, Tommiesports.com produced this 30-year anniversary story on the 1984 CC sweep.

By TOM WREDE / UST Sports Information

UST's men and women's cross country squads each received berths into the 2014 NCAA national meet held Nov. 22 in Mason, Ohio. The teams continued St. Thomas' men and women's reputation for excellence, as the men qualified for the 25th time (fifth most in D-III), and the women advanced a team for the 20th time (10th best in D-III).

The men concluded their run placing 31st overall, while the women had an All-America in Erin Statz (13th place) and finished 21st.

The latest Ohio trip evoked memories of 30 years ago this month, when St. Thomas traveled to Ohio Wesleyan and brought back two championship trophies.

The 1980s were an incredible era for our cross country program, said long-time women's cross country head coach Joe Sweeney. Sweeney ran cross country as a Tommie in the 1970s under the coaching of Larry "Doc" Russ.

During an eight-year span from 1981-88 ,the Tommie women won a remarkable five national titles. They won nationals in 1982 and placed second in 1983, getting beat by the UW-La Crosse Eagles. The men's team finished third in the 1983 national championships.

This all but indicated that something special was in store for 1984 cross country season. "We knew we had a shot to be one of the top teams in 1984," said current men's coach Pete Wareham.

Wareham was a standout runner for the Tommies in the early 1980s. As a senior in 1984, he had experience running with his teammates for several years, even at the national level.

That season Wareham said a talented freshman blended with several hard-working, goal-oriented returners from the previous season.

Having won nationals in 1982, the women knew what it took to win it all and were aware that expectations were always exceptionally high.

"The work ethic, the competitive drive and the athleticism were outstanding on those teams," said Tommie runner Sarah (Hintz) Bolcer.

The two teams were close and committed themselves throughout the season and eventually -- as anticipated -- qualified for nationals.

November 17, 1984

On the day of the national meet, the men ran first, about an hour before the women.

"I remember being quite nervous before the race as I finished high at the meet the year before and was expected to be right up there again. It was probably the most nervous I have ever been for a race," Wareham said.

"I got out slower than I should have but worked my way up towards the lead group, but it was very hard. In the end it just worked out," he said.

Wareham placed third of nearly 200 runners for All-America honors and was one of six Tommies to close in the top 51 individually.

As a team, the Tommie men upset North Central (Ill.) 79-86 to win their first-ever national title. North Central had been a powerhouse winning six national titles and taking second place twice between 1975 and 1984.

"There was all this excitement and emotion buzzing around us with their celebrating, and we still had to run," Sweeney said. "It definitely inspired us, but it added pressure, too."

Sweeney told the women in the huddle prior to the race: "Well, the guys just won, so you know what you have to do, or no one is going to care about us."

That's all he had to say.

The gun went off for the women's race and St. Thomas was soon locked in an incredible battle against La Crosse, Sweeney said, everyone had to have the best race of their lives.

The Eagles had a strong women's team again in 1984. They had beat the Toms soundly in mid-October, and were a heavy favorite to win again at nationals.

"La Crosse was becoming quite a thorn in our side that year. It was up to every runner that day to do their job and to get in front of a La Crosse girl. No one choked, and that was quite characteristic of Joe's teams in that era," Bolcer said.

St. Thomas officially beat La Crosse 50-64, placing five in the top 30 runners. Bolcer placed the Tommie-best fifth overall in the meet.

The Tommie men and women's cross country teams had both dominated and won NCAA gold.

The hard work throughout the season payed off and it was truly a collective effort.

"The biggest thrill was winning with the men's team. When the score was announced, the men's team hoisted me on their shoulders and carried me around -- it was like a scene from a movie!"

Bolcer agreed with her coach.

"The team championships were what mattered," Bolcer said, "the men's team and the women's team were very tight with each other, and both of us winning was so important to everyone."

This was the first national title for Russ. He would add No. 2 in 1986 when the two UST squads swept to first place again.

"He always showed great pride in my accomplishments, so it was very special to share the moment with him," Sweeney said.

Russ passed away in February 2014 at the age of 91.

Later Triumph, Change

"The miracle in Ohio", as Sweeney put it, created a winning culture in the cross country program. Moreover, since the 1980s, Division III athletics have gotten more competitive.

"Sports aren't something schools just provide, but an important piece of the admissions strategy in attracting quality students and projecting a winning image. In the 1980's we were ahead of our time, and demonstrated what's possible," Sweeney said. St. Thomas remarkably duplicated the feat in 1986.

The Tommie cross country teams got things rolling on the national scene for the University of St. Thomas as a whole and Sweeney will always be proud of that.

"Our thought process was: If they are giving out a national championship trophy, why can't that be us? That was the attitude we had, and it's great to see that adopted by so many other St. Thomas teams," he said.

Since Wareham was last a college competitor in 1984, the qualification requirements to make it to the NCAA championship has changed. Now his teams fight for one of only 32 spots at NCAA cross country championship, possibly the lowest percentage of all D-III sports with less than 10 percent of teams advancing, according to Wareham.

It's impressive that the Tommies regularly make it to national competition.The men's team has finished in the top 20 at the national meet 22 times. Tommie women's cross-country teams have won four NCAA Division III team championships and one Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national crown.

The legacy of the program goes beyond the course.

"Having been a part of St. Thomas and especially in athletics has been one of the most important parts of my life. The focus on faith, family, and academics, and friendships is so important. It was quite a blessing and privilege to be a part of that," Bolcer said.

1984 NCAA Men's CC Championships/at Ohio Wesleyan

Team Leaders

1. St. Thomas 76; 2. North Central 89; 3. Brandeis 145; 4. St. John's 148; 5. Luther 151.

UST Runners (NCAA individual place)