A Look Back At Jeff Olenick's NCAA Cross Country Championship Experience

If you watched the end of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game between Gonzaga and Baylor, you saw the annual montage of "One Shining Moment." Those magical moments are not just confined to March Madness and on the basketball court. Most student-athletes dream of competing in the NCAA Championships. Goucher College has had 16 teams participate in the NCAA Championships and at least seven individuals through cross country, track and field, and swimming. 

Jeff Olenick competed in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships twice in his Goucher Hall of Fame career. The moment he stepped on the Goucher campus, his goal was to reach the NCAA Championships.

"When I had my entry meeting with Coach John Caslin before my freshman season started, that is what I stated was my goal," said Olenick.

He came to Baltimore in the fall of 1997 and was successful from the start. He won the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) individual title, and he finished seventh at the NCAA Mid-East Regional to earn a spot on the All-Mideast Team and All-Mideast Freshmen Team. He also qualified for the national championships.

"I had to wait until the results were tallied to find out my placing among the runners who didn't qualify with their teams, so it was pretty nerve-wracking to wait around and wonder if I had maybe missed out on qualifying by a single place," said Olenick. '"What would've happened if I had pushed just a little more over the last mile?' It was a huge relief when I found out I made it the first time – even if I was the last runner from our region to qualify."

Olenick said he arrived at the NCAA Championships in 1997 very nervous and intimidated. He knew that they were the best of the best of NCAA Division III and thought "who was I to compete against them?"

He finished 97th at the NCAA Division III Championships in 1997 in Boston, Massachusetts. Olenick placed fifth at the CAC Championships and finished 147th at the NCAA Mideast Regional in 1998. After winning his second individual CAC title, he placed 96th at the NCAA Mideast Regional as a junior in 1999. 

Olenick won his third individual title at the conference championships in 2000 and then qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second time in his career after placing third in the NCAA Mideast Regional to earn All-Mideast honors.

"The second time I qualified for the NCAA Championships was a bit different because I knew for the last mile or so of the race that I was going to qualify – so I was able to enjoy the experience a bit more," said Olenick.

Three years after experiencing the NCAA Championships for the first time, Olenick was back on the national stage, but this time the event took place on the West Coast in Spokane, Washington.

"The experience the first time around really helped prepare me for the second time – I was still nervous, but more excited; and since it was my senior year, I was determined to go out on a high note," said Olenick.

Olenick's high note was finishing ninth at the 2000 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships to earn All-American honors. The final leg will be something Olenick will never forget.

"I knew I had run pretty well, but I didn't know exactly how I had finished until I saw Coach Caslin walking up to me with a huge smile on his face telling me I had finished in the top 10," said Olenick.

The NCAA Championship is a special experience that not everyone can share, and that is what makes the championships unique.

"The other meets during the year – including the conference championships – are less of a mystery," said Olenick. "You know the teams and runners that you are competing against, their strengths and weaknesses, and you have probably competed against them before. You all train and compete on roughly the same courses, so you can prepare better. At the NCAA Championships, there were schools there I had never even heard of – ever! And a lot of runners had faster or slower times depending on the type of terrain they compete over. It was a much more unknown environment and field that you are competing against."

Olenick is the only All-American in cross country or track and field for the Gophers. He is proud to represent Goucher on the national stage.

"It meant the world to me to represent Goucher," said Olenick. "To reach the NCAA Championships twice in my career validated for me that Goucher was the right program for me and that Coach Caslin succeeded in molding me into the best runner."