Arig Tong didn’t imagine she would have a historic season when she first walked onto the campus of Hanover College.
The former cross-country runner from Columbus North etched herself in the history books after finishing her freshman season for the Panthers.
Tong became the first freshman women’s runner in school history to qualify for the Division III National Championships. Overall, Tong became the fourth female runner to qualify and the first since Emily Cochard in 2007.
“I was very proud of myself because I didn’t realize that I would be the first freshman,” Tong said. “I think it was a shock because I didn’t realize it, and I’m also very proud of all of the hard work I’ve put in. Being the first, I realized that I raised the bar and wanted to reach higher and higher, so I made a new goal that I wouldn’t settle for just being the first runner, but still run my hardest at nationals.”
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In addition, Tong earned Division III All-Region Honors, she was named First-Team All Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and also was named HCAC Freshman of the Year.
So far, Tong has turned in the sixth-fastest 6K (3.8-mile) time in school history with a time of 22 minutes 42.1 seconds and the third-fastest 5K (3.1 miles) with a time of 18:28.4. She also earned the Most Valuable Runner award at the program’s end-of-the-season banquet.
“When I watched her run in high school, I knew that she was very talented and felt like she would be able to be successful at our level,” said Brady Wells, who just wrapped up his second season as Hanover cross-country coach. “Probably the biggest for me, though, was recruiting her knowing that I had a great person. A big part of our recruiting is that we have a lot of good people here, and with Arig and her personality and getting to know her more, I just felt very confident that she was going to work hard and inspire to be a great athlete.”
The transition from high school to college running went smooth for Tong.
“The training has been rigorous, but at the same time, I’ve learned during my time at Columbus North to tough it out,” Tong said. “The main thing hasn’t been about how often we practice, but a little bit more mileage than what I was used to, so that took some time getting used to.”
Tong finished 115th out of 279 runners in last month’s Division III Championship with a time of 22:40. Paige Lawler of Washington University won in 20:50.
As much as Tong has accomplished her freshman year, she is hungry for more and striving to set even bigger goals for herself in the next three years.
“I’d like to place at nationals and to keep going,” Tong said. “Hopefully, I can get more records and get to the top spot on the leaderboard here.”
Tong will be a major centerpiece for the Hanover program the next few years.
“I feel like Arig has a lot of great leadership qualities, and I think she’s going to be a great leader for our program,” Wells said. “She’s also a great person, and when you combine those aspects, it’s going to do nothing but allow our program to continue to develop and to reach some new heights.”
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Name: Arig Tong
College: Hanover
Class: Freshman
Sport: Cross Country
Accomplishments: First momen’s freshman to qualify for Division III Cross County National Championship in school history. Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Named Most Valuable Runner for Hanover.
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