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Al Carius of North Central College (Ill.) has been named the 1999 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year. The United States Track Coaches Association and Mondo Surfacing selects and presents the award annually to a top coach at one of the 307 NCAA Division III schools that sponsor men's cross country.

Carius, who also received NCAA Division III Coach of the Year honors in 1993, 1995 and 1998, guided North Central College to a first-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship held Nov. 20 in Winneconne, Wis. The Cardinals scored 84 points and had four All-Americans at the event to claim their third consecutive NCAA Division III title and 12th in school history. No school in the 27-year history of the NCAA Division III Championship has won more titles than North Central College.

North Central College qualified as a team entrant for the NCAA Division III Championship by winning the 28-team Midwest Regional held Nov. 13. The Cardinals placed five runners in the top 25 individual finishes to score 53 points.

In addition to its regional and national titles, North Central College also won the eight-team North Park College Invitational, 22-team Augustana College Invitational, five-team Millikin University Invitational, 16-team North Central College Invitational and the eight-team College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship during the 1999 season. At the CCIW Championship, the Cardinals tallied a perfect score of 15 points to post their 26th straight league title.

Carius, who recently completed his 34th season as head coach of the Cardinals, has led North Central College to 11 second-place finishes at the NCAA Division III Championship in addition to its 12 national titles. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois.

Nancy Meyer of Calvin College (Mich.) was named 1999 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.