Wheeling, W. Va. - During the 2023 season, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's Cross Country programs continued to show growth on the course. On Thursday, the teams released their 2024 schedule as they look to build on that experience heading into 2024. With a wide array of competition, ranging from in-region opponents all the way to DI level competition, the Cardinals will look to put together strong racing performances on their way to the Atlantic Regional Championships in early November.
The 2023 season was a year of growth for both the men's and women's teams with young talent pacing both efforts. On the women's side, it was a pair of sophomores in Gabby Baiano and Sydney Hamble that paced the effort for the Cardinals. The team would take eighth at the 2023 MEC Championships, with Baiano leading the way with a 30th place finish overall. On the men's side, the Cardinals had some more experience, with former Cardinal Izaiha Browning leading the way. They had a pair of top 20 finishes across their three regular season races and took eighth at the MEC Championships. However, Browning would make history, earning Second Team All-MEC honors to become the first Cardinal to earn All-MEC honors since 2018.
As has become tradition with the program, the 2024 season will kick-off with the running of the Bob Creamer Memorial Inner-Squad 3K on Saturday, August 31st. It serves as the kick-off event of the year for the Cardinal Cross Country and Track & Field programs and allows the Cardinal runners to get in race experience. Their first regular season race will come a week later when the team heads to Tiffin, Ohio for the Tiffleberg Cross Country Open on Saturday, September 6th. It will be the team's first chance to see several in-region opponents and gauge themselves against the rest of the region. The Cardinals will ramp things up over the next four weeks, with a pair of DI competition races to end September and open October.
The stretch begins with the Youngstown State Alumni Invitational on Saturday, September 21st, before the team heads to Louisville, Kentucky for the Live the Lou Cross Country Classic. It will test the Cardinals against some of the top runners across the country before they head back to in-region play. Their final regular season race will come on October 11th when they run at the Fighting Scots Invitational hosted by Edinboro University. It will be the team's final tune-up before they head to the Crispin Golf Course at Oglebay Park for the 2024 MEC Cross Country Championships. The event will be held on Saturday, October 26th, with both teams looking to climb the ladder. The year will end with the Atlantic Regional Championships in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 9th as the Cardinals tackle their longest race of the year.
The 2024 Wheeling Cross Country season kicks off on Saturday, September 6th, when the team competes at the Tiffleberg Cross Country open in Tiffin, Ohio.
