Senior Noah Gatwood.
CHRISTA SCHROEDEL / THE DEPAUW
For leading the DePauw University Tigers' cross country team to an eighth place finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Great Lakes Regional event last weekend, senior Noah Gatwood is our Tiger of the Week. To make up for missing the Monon Bell game, Gatwood brought home an armful of accomplishments. He covered the 8,000 meter course in just under 25 minutes, a time good enough for 18th, and then he was awarded All-Region honors. This performance came just two weeks after Gatwood finished ninth at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships and was placed on the second team All-NCAC. While he came just short of qualifying for the NCAA national meet, Gatwood wrapped up his career with the Tigers on a high note.
The DePauw (TDP): With cross country being a tough sport for fans to come out and watch, can you just say a few words about what the atmosphere at an event is like?
Noah Gatwood (NG): The atmosphere at a cross country meet is actually largely driven by fan support. It's an interesting situation when fans get to run around the course as we race and can experience some of the rush that we feel as competitors. We definitely both make contributions to a strong and spirited atmosphere.
TDP: In an individual sport like cross country, do the personal accolades that you acquired mean a little bit more?
NG: It's hard for me to speak to other sports, but I will say that XC is a unique mixture of both individual and team-driven aspirations. I weigh my accomplishments only on what I believe my limits to be, but individual goals can only go so far. The contribution to a team is really what makes my personal accolades worth it.
TDP: How nice was it for you to wrap up your season with such a strong personal performance?
NG: It meant a lot for me to have such a strong race as my last. I saw it as the culmination of all the work I've put into making myself better. There's a lot of sacrifice that goes into being a successful distance runner, and I was happy to see that it paid off.
TDP: Now that your career running for DePauw is over, what sort of emotions do you feel looking back on the last four seasons with the team?
NG: Like I said before, I'm definitely sad that my running career at DePauw is over since it was such a large part of my experience here. It's hard to really explain to anyone but a few who have experienced it know exactly what it's meant to me. I do, however, find some relief that I'm leaving a team that has such big goals for the future.