Wheeling, W. Va. - After a long season of preparation, the Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team took the conference championship stage as they headed to Oglebay Park's Crispin Golf Course. The Cardinals would match their preseason ranking, finishing 10^th overall in the field, but continued to have strong individual successes. They had one runner in the top 25 of the race and placed two in the top 60 of the event as the young Cardinals continued their growth on the postseason stage.

Leading the way for the fifth time this season was junior Madison Conrad, who would finish 23^rd with a time of 24:46.3. Conrad has been the Cardinal's leader all season long, and was out to a fast start as she hit the course. She was with the opening pack through the first mile of the race, and would be battling for an All-MEC spot throughout the course. As she was coming down to the finish line, she was two seconds behind Point Park's Aubrey Smith and hit a kick over the final few feet. Unfortunately, she was unable to catch her and finished just two seconds off the pace and seven seconds off the pace of a spot on the All-MEC tournament team. She showed that she is among the top runners in the conference and looks to continue that success through the postseason.

The only Cardinal to have previously competed on the course was Gabby Baiano, and she was the other Cardinal to break into the top 60 of the event. She would finish 57^th overall, with a time of 26:54.68 and came down the stretch just .02 seconds off the pace of the girl in front of her. She would round out her final Championship race strong as she helped lead a young Cardinal squad. The first of the freshman to finish was Luci Banks, who finished 78^th with a time of 30:37.24. Banks was running the race for the first time in her career and was just 37 seconds shy of breaking the 30-minute barrier. She has been the team's #3 runner throughout the season and was able to just get inside the top 80 of the event. She would push her way through the challenging hills of the course and began her postseason run with a bang.

Rounding out the effort for the Cardinals were Jezabella Cohen and Autumn Kerchner, who would finish 85^th and 89^th respectively. Cohen, who was also competing in her first ever MEC Championship race, would finish with a time of 35:39.53 and showed that she was able to tackle the hills of Oglebay. Autumn Kerchner would round out the day, finishing 89^th at 41:08.20 as she competed in her second collegiate race.

The Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team returns to action on Saturday, November 8^th when they compete at the 2025 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championships.