DeKALB | Do not confuse his name with Edgar Allen Poe’s Raven, or a McDonalds menu item. He is neither an overstuffed burger nor a talking fowl.

He is Wendel McRaven, who was recently named NIU women’s cross country head coach on May 9, to the delight of coaches and athletes alike.

“He’s the total package,” said Connie Teaberry, NIU women’s cross country and track and field director. “The girls need someone they can trust and connect with, and his philosophy and personality make him a perfect fit.”

Before arriving at NIU, McRaven was at University of Illinois for six years, helping coach the men’s cross country team to top-10 regional finishes every year of his tenure, as well as guiding 12 Illinois runners to the NCAA Regional Championships. Before Illinois, McRaven was the head coach of track & field and cross country at Kent State University, where he was named coach of the year five times, guiding the Golden Flashes to five MAC championships.

“We hired McRaven because he knows how to take over a program and help make it win,” Teaberry said. “We feel we got the coach that can take the program to the next level.”

McRaven was unavailable for comment, but it seems as though unadulterated optimism was all anyone had for the new coach and the upcoming cross country season this year.

“I haven’t heard anything bad about him,” said junior Courtney Oldenburg, middle distance and distance runner for the cross country team. “Its exciting knowing that we will have a coach who has a lot of experience and knowledge about cross country”.

It will be interesting to see if McRaven can pull off a “Gordon Bombay” and turn the women’s cross country team, who finished last in the standings at seasons end, into MAC champions.