Conclusion: Trinity Cross Country Over the Years

Although the popularity of long distance running has continued to increase since the running boom of the 1970s, the sport of cross country is arguably most popular among those individuals who actually participate in it. Cross country at Trinity did not become a university sponsored sport in order to appeal to fans, to bring in revenue, nor to meet Title IX regulations. Instead, the idea had sprouted from student interest and the student voice was heard at Trinity University. Former Trinity students David Apel and Ken Louis deserve most of the credit for setting the stage for a varsity cross country program. These are two individuals who were passionate about the sport and missed the competitive cross country programs they had each known from high school. Students at Trinity were interested in distance running and both Apel and Louis took action to make sure that those interests were recognized by the university. Without their significant contributions and efforts to organize the running community on campus, the Trinity University Cross Country team may not have been established for several more years. The goal to create an intercollegiate cross country team at Trinity had been set more than once, but that goal only became a reality when there were individuals willing to consistently put in the work to pursue it. 

Since its establishment in 1988, the Trinity University Cross Country program has seen many successful seasons over the years. The Tiger teams have earned multiple conference championships, regional titles, and produced many national qualifiers. The informal cross country club founded by Apel was indeed transformed into a respectable and competitive intercollegiate program. Looking back at the success of the teams, Ken Louis is “pleased to see the momentum behind it over the years” (Louis, personal interview). The program has grown significantly since he had competed with the team during its first two official seasons. In the fall of 2017, the path of the Trinity Cross Country team had crossed with the path of Trinity alumnus David Apel at an airport. Both the Trinity team and Apel were traveling to the NCAA Regional meet in Newport News, Virginia. Apel had gone to support his son, a runner at Centre College, but as a proud alumni he also found himself cheering for the Trinity Tigers (Apel, personal interview). Watching the Tigers compete, Apel remembers being impressed and to this day he is “proud to say I had a hand in getting cross country started at Trinity” (Apel, personal interview).