Huntsville, AL: The Hawks will compete Saturday, November 14, at John Hunt Park Cross Country Course, joining the nation's top NJCAA Division III programs for the 8k national championship race.
Harper enters the championship meet looking to defend its 2025 national title, when the Hawks finished ahead of College of DuPage by a score of 55-68. The program has established itself as one of the premier teams in NJCAA Division III, with 10 national championships in its history.
The Hawks finished second at regionals with 41 points, narrowly trailing College of DuPage. Despite falling short of the team title, Harper delivered several strong individual performances, led by Ryan Golden, who captured the individual regional championship with a time of 25:52.8.
Harper will also have several returning All-Americans leading the way. Golden, Sebastian Welc and Ethan Waddell return with national championship experience, providing an experienced foundation for the Hawks heading into Saturday's race.
The individual competition will also feature several talented runners from across the country, including Terra State's Evan Schiefer and College of DuPage's Michael Gamboa.
Before Saturday's championship, the Hawks shared their thoughts on their season, individual goals and what it will take to bring another national title back to Palatine.
Golden Looks to Finish His Harper Career with Another Title
For Golden, consistency and increased commitment have been the biggest factors behind his improvement this season. After seeing his training pay off throughout the previous cross-country and track seasons, Golden entered this fall with greater effort and increased mileage to continue improving.
"Most of my success has come from being consistent with mileage and my performance in workouts, and seeing that work throughout my previous cross-country and track season, I went this season with more effort and more mileage to be able to improve as much as I have," Golden said.
After finishing four seconds short of the individual regional title last season, Golden returned this year and captured the championship with a time of 25:52.8. The victory provided additional motivation heading into nationals and gave him confidence in his ability to compete for an individual national title.
"Winning the title meant a lot. Last year I came up short and missed the chance of winning by 4 seconds," Golden said. "Being able to create a gap and win means a lot and has given me the motivation I need to tell myself I have a chance to win Natty's."
With another opportunity to compete for both individual and team national championships, Golden enters Saturday expecting to finish at the top. As he approaches the end of his time as a Harper Hawk, another championship would make for a memorable conclusion to his collegiate career.
"My expectations are to win national both as a team and as an individual," Golden said. "To be able to bring home another title would mean a lot; having two championships under my belt and redemption from last year's performance would make my end as a Harper Hawk very beautiful."
Welc Looks to Lead Harper Against DuPage
Welc has quickly established himself as one of Harper's leading runners, finishing third at regionals in 26:52.6. Throughout the season, Welc has credited his teammates for pushing him to work harder and continuing to develop as a runner.
"The biggest factor is having teammates to push me to work harder. We are all so close and we all want each other and the team to succeed," Welc said.
Welc has also benefited from competing alongside Golden, with the two working together throughout workouts and races to push each other toward better performances.
"Having Ryan there to run with helps me race with him. We can work together throughout workouts and races," Welc said.
Heading into his second national championship experience, Welc is focused on competing against College of DuPage's top runners while doing everything he can to help Harper defend its title.
"I want to focus on beating DuPage's top runner. I want to do all that I can for the team," Welc said. "The rest of the team needs to focus on running well, beating DuPage guys. We can win another national title."
Waddell Looks to Build on National Championship Experience
For Waddell, returning to nationals as an All-American provides an opportunity to build on last season's success. However, missing the outdoor track season affected his motivation and changed his expectations heading into the summer.
"I think missing the track season really put a dent into what I thought I could achieve and I got demotivated and didn't do much over the summer," Waddell said.
Despite that setback, his performance at regionals helped restore his confidence. Seeing how well the team competed and how he was able to push himself throughout the race gave him additional motivation heading into Saturday's championship.
"Going into nationals after regionals and seeing how fast we went out and how well I pushed really gave me motivation and confidence to run how I need to on race day," Waddell said.
After experiencing the challenges of national championship racing last season, Waddell also enters this year's race with a different mindset. Rather than allowing nerves to affect his performance, he now has a plan and understands what he needs to accomplish.
"Racing at this level last year, I was super nervous and didn't really know how to race properly, but this year I have my plan and I know exactly what I need to do and where I need to be," Waddell said.
With Harper entering nationals as the underdogs after finishing second at regionals, Waddell believes the team has plenty of motivation to prove itself.
"Being the underdogs going into the race gives us a lot of motivation to prove that we are the better team and we want it more than anyone else on the field does," Waddell said. "It would really be amazing to win another national title and continue what we did last year."
Ontiveros Ready for First National Championship
In his first collegiate cross-country season, Mozart Ontiveros has worked his way into Harper's top five and established himself as one of the team's important contributors. Coming from the high school level, Ontiveros said adjusting to longer race distances and the increased level of competition were his biggest challenges.
"The biggest adjustment was the race distances and the level competition, but this team and coaching staff has helped me get adjusted fast and improve," Ontiveros said.
Ontiveros has also used the opportunity to compete for both a team national championship and All-American recognition as motivation throughout the season. The goals have helped him stay committed through early morning and weekend training sessions.
"When I don't wanna get up for my morning runs or weekend runs, I think of what I'm doing it for. I'm a part of something bigger than myself, so that's what keeps me going and I feel incredibly honored to be in contention," Ontiveros said.
As he prepares for his first national championship, Ontiveros expects nothing less than a team victory while hoping to put himself in the best position to earn All-American honors.
"We expect nothing less than a win on a team level. On an individual level I wanna put myself in the best position for our team while being able to become an All-American," Ontiveros said. "It would mean a lot to the school to bring back another national title given the success Harper has in the NJCAA."
Martinez Embraces His Role in Harper's Top Five
Kevin Martinez has worked his way into Harper's top five throughout the season, overcoming challenges with his mentality, effort and conditioning to become one of the team's scoring runners.
"It's been amazing and an honor to be able to help support the team. There's been many things to overcome to get me where I am now. Like my mentality and putting more effort, my conditioning and trying to keep up with the top 4 guys in workouts," Martinez said.
As the team's fifth runner, Martinez understands the importance of closing the gap between himself and Harper's top four. He believes continuing to improve his position in the lineup could make a significant difference in the team's overall finish.
"It means a lot because I know if I could just get a lot closer to the 4th runner, I'd be the reason why the team would have a successful overall finish," Martinez said. "Through hard work and meaningful talks, I have made my way up to the 5th runner up."
Heading into nationals, Martinez is confident in the team's ability to defend its championship. Winning another national title would also give him personal confidence in what he can accomplish as a contributor to a championship team.
"I am very confident in the team as they are mentally locking in and so will I to hopefully defend the national title," Martinez said. "This win would mean a lot to me because it would prove to me that I have what it takes to help a team and even win us titles."
Velásquez and Sanchez Round Out Top 7
Fern and Nestor round out the top seven for the Hawks, providing depth. The more they can move up the leader board the more they can shake up the points.
Hawks Look to Defend Their National Championship
The Hawks enter Saturday's championship with a combination of returning national championship experience and new contributors who have helped establish Harper as one of the top programs in NJCAA Division III. Golden, Welc, Waddell, Ontiveros and Martinez have each played important roles throughout the season, bringing different experiences and motivations into the final race of the year. With College of DuPage once again standing as one of Harper's biggest competitors, the Hawks will need to rely on their depth and ability to run together throughout the 8k course.
After a season of preparation and competition, Harper has reached the final race of the year with an opportunity to add another championship to the program's history.
The mission is simple: defend the title and bring another national championship home to Harper College.
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