Members of the Muhlenberg cross country team were hanging out at the home of senior John Dyer last Sunday when head coach Will Elson called with a simple, two-word message: “We’re in.”

In to the NCAA Division III Championships, which are slated for Saturday at Voice of America Park in West Chester, Ohio. The Mules, who were selected as one of 16 at-large teams, leave tomorrow for their first national appearance as a team.

“It’s pretty much been our goal all along, and the fact that we did it as a team makes it so much better,” said senior Stephen Rothwell. “None of us would have gone individually, which is kind

Seeley has been in Muhlenberg’s top three in every race but one this year.

of unheard of. Usually when you go as a team, you have some individuals qualify.”

Although this will be the first national appearance for all seven Muhlenberg runners

Division III poll school points last 1. Calvin 280 1 2. Wis.-LaCrosse 272 2 3. New York University 264 3 4. Cortland State 255 4 5. North Central 248 8 6t. Haverford 233 7 6t. Williams 233 9 8. Wis.-Platteville 225 11 9. Wis.-Oshkosh 213 5 10. Hamline 212 12 11. Luther 194 15 12. Wartburg 178 13 13. Willamette 176 13 14. Allegheny 171 20 15. St. John’s (Minn.) 164 10 16. Rochester Inst. 154 24 17. Bowdoin 147 18 18. Washington (Mo.) 141 26 19. Geneseo State 139 6 20. Nebraska Wesleyan 137 16 21. New Jersey 131 21 22. Occidental 114 28 23. Carnegie Mellon 95 29 24. Trinity (Conn.) 94 nr 25. Heidelberg 89 nr 26. Wesleyan (Conn.) 74 34 27. Ohio Northern 72 nr 28t. Centre 65 33 28t. Claremont 65 nr 30. Mt. Union 63 31 31. Wheaton (Ill.) 38 21 32. Rhodes 36 nr 33. MUHLENBERG 35 nr 34. Colorado College 13 32 35. Wis.-Stevens Point 8 17

(Rothwell, Dyer, seniors Lex Mercado and Tim Seeley and sophomores David Chorney, Timothy Van Syckle and Stuart Udis), they do have some second-hand experience. Elson qualified as a senior in 2002, and teammate Karen Mount ran in last year’s NCAA meet.

“I’ve heard it’s a pretty big shock, and you can’t really prepare yourself,” said Rothwell, the Mules’ top finisher at the regional meet. “Some people tank and some do really well, but if we go in with the right mindset we’ll be fine.”

The championship Web site has a virtual tour of the course, which shows it to be mostly grass and not too hilly. From what he saw, Rothwell found it similar it to Lehigh, a course Muhlenberg is very familiar with, and Waynesburg, where the regionals were held last weekend.

“It looks like our kind of course,” he said. “Waynesburg was a tough course in the regionals because of the mud, but when we ran there in September we did well.”

What would be considered “doing well” at the NCAAs may be hard to pinpoint. As one of the last teams to make the 32-team field, and ranked 33rd in the latest Division III poll, expectations for the Mules on a national scale will be low.

“We don’t have much to lose, so maybe that will take the pressure off,” concluded Rothwell. “We want to beat as many teams as possible and show that we belong. As well as we did at the regionals, we know we can do better.”