First it was the Centennial Conference championship. Then it was a NCAA Mideast Regional title. And, Saturday, it was a NCAA Division III national championship for former Park star Anders Hulleberg.
Hulleberg, a senior at Haverford College, led his team to a national title when he covered the eight kilometer course at Waterburg College, in Waverly, Iowa, in 24 minutes, 22.2 seconds to take a two second win over Michael Spain of North Central College (IL).
It was a tremendous jump for Hulleberg who finished 89th in the same race one year ago.
He may have surprised some of his opponents and certainly surprised himself, according to his post-race remarks.
“I just wanted to stay competitive and with 500 (yards) to go, I was still there and decided to go for it,” said Hulleberg. “I honestly can’t believe it. I got out towards the top of the race and it didn’t feel that hard. I relaxed early on and I knew I was going to have a good race.”
