Wheeling, W. Va. - Growing up in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, former Wheeling University Cross Country Runner Lindsay Scheffel knows about the perks of a close-knit community. When she was looking for a place to continue her athletic and academic career, she would find that community she was looking for in Wheeling University. Being a member of the Cross Country and Track & Field teams helped her reach her full potential on the course while preparing her for the future.
"It was like being in this close-knit community and that's what I really loved about it," said Scheffel. "I created so many friends who are life long, I am about to be married to someone I met while I was there, so you just create these great relationships with your classmates, teammates, and instructors. It was like being in a community where I didn't feel like just a number, and I was connected to everyone on campus."
Scheffel first stepped foot in the Cross Country world in middle school, following in the footsteps of several of her family members who had competed in the sport before her. From the moment she began her running career, she thrived with the support of her teammates and coaches and continued to grow. This support led to her not only sticking to the sport, but continuing to get faster and faster as she moved up the Cross Country ranks.
"I quickly met some really great coaches and really great people through the sport, and it felt like everyone supported each other, which I really loved about it," said Scheffel. "I think I also loved that Cross Country is a really great team sport, but it is also an individual sport, and I always loved that aspect of it, and it just took off."
Scheffel would compete as a member of Preston High School's Cross Country and Track & Field team and continued her growth in high school. As a small school, Preston did not have all the amenities of some of the bigger schools in the area, but Scheffel and her teammates would make the most of what they had. Throughout her four-year career, Scheffel was named a four-time (first team) All-Conference player and a two-time competitor in the state championships. She would compete in the State Championships during both her junior and senior seasons, where she fell just short of being named an All-State player each time.
When she was looking for a school to continue her education, it was familiarity that brought her to Wheeling University. One of her former teammates and another close friend had already made the trip to Wheeling and a visit from former Wheeling head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Ricky Moore would help get her to Wheeling.
"One of my older teammates went to Wheeling and another one of my close friends, Terrance Fanning, went to Wheeling so I think I just knew some people there," said Scheffel. "I remember Ricky coming to states and I did not do what I wanted to do, but he still came and was very encouraging and really great to talk to and I think I liked him because he was so down to earth. Then I went on a visit there and I instantly clicked with the team and my mom knew to as soon as we visited the campus that I wanted to go there."
She had fallen in love with her new team, fallen in love with the campus, and fallen in love with the coach, but the thought of becoming a college athlete terrified her. She had a lot of success in high school, but self-doubt continued to creep in as to whether she would be good enough to translate those skills to the college level.
"I was really terrified," said Scheffel. "I remember talking to Kaitlyn [Workman] because she was on my high school team, and I told her I was terrified about becoming a college athlete. I was worried about not being able to keep up with anybody on runs and I had to do workouts that I have never had to do before. It was really overwhelming but I think everyone made it better once I got onto campus. Even if I had a bad workout, Ricky would tell me it was one bad workout and it doesn't matter."
She would make her collegiate Cross Country Debut at the Marty Uher Cross Country Invitational on September 3rd, 2016, and picked up a top 10 finish. She ran the 3K in 12:37.8, starting her career with a bang. It would be a big season overall for the team as they went on to win the first MEC Championship in program history later that season. Scheffel would take fourth in the race and for her efforts took home the conference's Freshman of the Year Award. It was the culmination of an entire season of hard work coming together to accomplish their goal.
"It was really exhilarating," said Scheffel. "I remember when we won the MEC Championship as a team, Kelsey [Chambers] won athlete of the year, I won freshman of the year, and Ricky won Coach of the Year and I just remember all of us taking pictures and all of us were on cloud 9. We had worked so hard that year and Ricky put so much work into us that year and it was really incredible to see that outcome after that."
As she headed into her sophomore season, Scheffel was looking to build off her freshman year and grow as a runner. She worked hard throughout the off-season; to improve and it was the encouragement of Moore that kept her going. It was another season of hard work on the Cross Country course, and it would pay off as she took home the MEC Individual Championship at the 2017 Cross Country Championships. She finished with a time of
25:18.8, to take home the conference's Athlete of the Year honor and her first individual title.
"I did not think that I would ever be a conference champion in college, but I think Ricky helped me realize that it was possible," said Scheffel. "In his own way he was extremely encouraging and had a lot of faith in us as athletes. That always helped push us to our limits and do our best. I was always terrified to go out with the pack in the beginning of a race and Ricky told me you are going to go with this person, and you have to stay with them the whole time. Coming off freshman year knowing I can run with the lead pack and just hold on helped me grow as a runner."
Along with facing the grueling schedule of being both a Cross Country and Track & Field athlete, Scheffel was also tasked with the course load that comes with being a Biology major. This is where the tight knit aspect of Wheeling's campus came in and helped her succeed. Scheffel credits her professors for helping support her and reach her goal of making it into veterinary school. One of the most influential professors in Scheffel's career was Dr. Ken Rastall, who helped guide her on the path to applying to veterinary school.
"Some of the professors that had a huge impact on me were like Dr. Rastall, who sadly is no longer around, but he was incredible, and we all loved him," said Scheffel. "When he was in his office you could pop in there and talk to him. I remember being stressed about applying to veterinary school and I was like "how am I supposed to do this" and he provided me that support."
Scheffel also noted several other professors in the Biology department who helped guide her through her career and balance the life of being a student-athlete.
"Dr. Shurina, he was always really supportive, Dr. Koch, he went above and beyond to make sure that my friend Chelsey and I were excelling the way that we needed to get into the programs we hoped to get into after school," said Scheffel. "Dr. Railing was really incredible too, and I think again they were all just so supportive and understanding. They knew a lot of us were student-athletes and they were always willing to work things out with us."
Scheffel would graduate from Wheeling with her degree in Biology in the winter of 2019 and began her journey to veterinary school. The first time that she applied she didn't get in, and took the opportunity to pursue a Master's in Public Health and Epidemiology at West Virginia University in the Fall of 2020. She would then reapply to vet school the following year and was accepted into the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, where she continues to take classes to this day. Scheffel credits her time at Wheeling with helping her to be able to make connections in the field that continue to further her career.
"I think I became more open to the idea of asking for help through Wheeling," said Scheffel. "They made me realize that it is not so scary to ask for help and people will be there and be supportive. Because of Wheeling being such a close-knit community, I have gained so many connections and I think that is something I have taken away. I know how to connect to people now and I know how to reach out to someone and create a connection. I can't tell you how many opportunities I have had at vet school because I am emailing someone. That was something that I learned through Wheeling that creating a community around you has helped me through my higher-level academic career."
To someone looking at Wheeling, Scheffel says to be open and go for it no matter how scary it might seem. The support she gained from Wheeling helped take her to the next level of her career and the community at Wheeling helped her achieve her goals.
"I would just say be open," said Scheffel. "I think a lot of people criticized me at first for going to a smaller DII school, so I would say to those people just ignore the naysayers. I think me going out of my shell and ignoring that really opened my world. In college athletics, a lot of people are terrified that it is going to be too much, but I will say that everyone at Wheeling is so supportive of the athletes and honestly it makes it better. I think I did better in my academics because I was in athletics."
