Wheeling, W. Va. – After putting together a strong showing with a young team in 2024, the Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team is entering a new era under new leadership in 2025. On Thursday, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) released their annual MEC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches. The Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team finished #10 in the poll, as they are looking to continue to build on their young core.
In 2024, the Cardinals took on a schedule that saw them take on a vast array of competition. They began the year against West Liberty in the annual "The Battle for Wheeling" and followed that up with meets against a pair of NCAA DI opponents in Youngstown State and Louisville. The regular season wrapped up with another regional opponent in Edinboro as the Cardinals competed in their final tune-up before the conference Championships. As they headed to Oglebay, the Cardinals had four of their five runners taking on the course for the first time, and were able to place two runners in the top 50 for the event. As they moved on to Nationals, the Cardinals did not produce a team score, but got valuable experience on the Regional level.
As they enter the 2025 season, the Cardinals will be under new leadership with the announcement of Greg Schmitt as the new Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach. Schmitt has come in and is looking to guide his young team to success on the course. Leading the way will be graduate student Hunter Tomich, who has been a staple for the Cardinals in each of the last four seasons. Tomich was the Cardinal's top finisher at the 2025 MEC Cross Country Championships, taking 40th with a time of 27:45.47, and is looking to continue that success. Behind him will be five runners who are in either their freshman or sophomore seasons, looking to make an impact in the MEC competition field.
The 2025 schedule will see the team face a heavy regional schedule, with competition across NCAA DII and NCAA DIII throughout the season. They will get an immediate look at the conference when they kick-off the season on September 4th at the West Liberty Invitational. It will give the Cardinals a chance to test themselves against the top competition in the conference and set a benchmark for their training the rest of the way. The Cardinals will also get a preview of the regional course during the season, running the Lock Haven Invitational in their third race of the season. That run will be sandwiched by a pair of DIII races against Bethany College and Carnegie Mellon University ahead of the 2025 MEC Cross Country Championships on October 25th.
Leading the way in the 2025 MEC Men's Cross Country preseason poll is the University of Charleston, who earned seven first place votes and 97 total points. They were followed by Davis & Elkins, who finished with four first place votes and 94 points, while Concord rounded out the top three with 75 points. The full MEC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll is below:
1. Charleston - (7) 97
2. Davis & Elkins - (4) 94
3. Concord - 75
4. Frostburg State - 69
5. West Virginia Wesleyan - 60
T6. Glenville State - 58
T6. West Liberty - 58
8. Fairmont State - 34
9. Point Park - 30
10. Wheeling - 20
11. West Virginia State - 10
The Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team kicks off the 2025 season on Thursday, September 4th, when they head to the West Liberty Invitational at 9 AM.
