Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team entered 2025 with a mix of veteran talent and young runners ready to make an impact. Greg Schmitt took over the program during the summer and helped lead the Cardinals into a new era. Each of the team's runners saw improvement throughout the season as they set a solid foundation for the program to build off in the future.
The 2025 season featured a four-race regular season schedule, with the year kicking off at the West Liberty Invitational. The Cardinals would start out strong, placing one runner in the top 100 and continued that trend throughout the season. They would have one runner set a PR in each of their final three races with the team picking up one top five finish. That finish came at the Bethany Invitational, where they took fifth in the field. The biggest race would come in the Lock Haven Invitational, where four of the five runners in the field set a PR. They would also earn their only top 10 finish of the season, and they headed into their their final race of the year with momentum. They wrapped up at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational and headed into the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships. They would finish 10th in the field, including a top 50 finish, to round out the day.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was Magnus Polkner, who ran in five of the six races on the season. HE would start the year with a bang, finishing sixth in his first race, and added a 7th place finish at the Lock Haven Invitational. It began a back-to-back stretch of 8K PR's, with his best run coming at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, where he ran a time of 26:39.5. He continued his success into the MEC Cross Country Championships, wherehe would continue the ring of success, running his best time for the event at 28:#5.0 and taking 42nd overall. He would then compete at the 2025 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships, where he set his final PR of the season, running a time of 33:03.8. Polkner took a big step forward during the cross country season, and looks to continue that momentum into the track season.
The most veteran runner for the Cardinals was graduate student Hunter Tomich, who has been at the top of the Cardinal's roster for the past four seasons. His top performance came at the Bethany Invitational, where he finished 17th with a time of 28:54.2 to finish 17th overall. Along with his performance on the course, he also served as a mentor to the young Cardinals on the course. One of thos eyoung performers was junior Courtney Rider who, after competing with the Wheeling Wrestling team over the past two seasons, joined the Cross Country team in 2025. He made his debut at the West Liberty Invitational, and set his 8K PR at the Lock Haven Invitational, where he ran a time of 29:58.1 to finish 98th in the field. He was consistently the Cardinal's #3 runner throughout the season and adjusted to his first season as a Cross Country runner.
As they head into the offseason, the Cross Country runners will continue to grow on the course as they compete as the distance group for both the indoor and outdoor track & field programs. It will help continue to build the foundation set forth this season and, with six of the seven runners on the roster returning next season, the Cardinals will get the chance to build on this year's success and bring in even more talent next season. Head Coach Greg Schmitt has established his training regimen and as he hits the recruiting trail, eh looks to continue the growth of Wheeling Cross Country into the future.
The Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team will now shift their focus to the Indoor Track season, where they will run as the distance group.
