200 runners race across Seahawk campus to celebrate homecoming

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — University of North Carolina, Wilmington celebrated decades of Seahawk memories and the largest college at the university did a victory run to celebrate.

More than 200 people signed up for the 5th annual 5K across the Seahawk campus, according to the College of Arts and Sciences’ Interim Dean Richard Ogle.

Ogle says he came up with the idea to start this tradition.

“All of us in the college… all different levels of leadership whether it’s faculty, whether it’s department chairs, associate deans or deans… really try to figure out what’s something we can do to bring to the table to bring the college together… make it cohesive,” Ogle said. “This is just something that I thought would be a great time because of my own fun and my own interest in running and so far so good. We are 5 years in and it’s still going strong.”

Ogle says all of the fun run’s proceeds support students.

“All of the proceeds from the fun run go to support student applied learning projects and so we award them a couple hundred bucks to buy scientific equipment or supplements for travel or work in the community,” Ogle said.

Ogle says he wanted to start a healthy activity for the college to participate in.

“When I was a department chair in the Department of Psychology, I had the idea while I was running a 5K that we should do something like this at UNCW to get together, have fun, celebrate homecoming and also support students,” Ogle said.