Wheeling, W. Va. – The 2025 season marks a new beginning for the Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team. The team is under new leadership, with the hiring of Head Cross Country & Track & Field Coach Greg Schmitt over the summer, and brings in five new runners to bring into the fold. As they head into the year, they will be looking to get that talent on the course and build the strong foundation.
During the 2024 season, the Cardinals featured a veteran group of runners who had been leading the Cardinals over the last several seasons. The year started at the West Liberty Invitational, where the team got an early look at the rest of their Mountain East Conference (MEC) competition. However, as the year went on, the veteran running group would challenge themselves against a pair of NCAA DI opponents. They wrapped up the regular season with a conference run at Edinboro in what was their final tune-up before the MEC Championship event. The Cardinals would go on to take 10th as a team, but had strong individual success. They had one runner earn First Team All-MEC honors at the event and placed three in the top 50. As they went on to Regionals, the Cardinals placed another runner in the top 50 as they brought the season to an end.
While there are a lot of new runners on the roster, the Cardinals do have one veteran returner in senir Gabby Baiano. She would compete in all six races for the Cardinals during the season, and was one of these runners to place in the top 50 at the MEC Cross Country Championships. Baiano would take 50th with a time of 26:32.47. However, she saved her best run of the season for last, setting her season-best 6K time at the 2024 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championships. It was there that she would set her top 6K time of the season, running a time of 24:05.6. As she enters the 2025 Cross Country season, she will be the most veteran Cardinal on the roster and will look to set the pace for the new runners who are joining the fold.
The other five Cardinal runners are all in their first year with the team as either freshmen or transfers. Leading the group of newcomers is junior Madison Conrad, who transferred in after running two seasons at NCAA DI Robert Morris. Conrad would help the team to the Horizon League Championship last Cross Country Season. She competed in three different races for the Colonials, with her best finish coming at the 5K Carnegie Mellon Invitational. She would set a PR with a time of 20:24.30 and will look to reach new heights with the Cardinals. The final four newcomers are all freshman with Jade Trowell, Jezzabella Cohen, Autumn Vallee, and Luci Banks all ready to kick-off their collegiate careers.
The 2025 season will see the Cardinals under new leadership in Head Coach Greg Schmitt. Schmitt came to the Cardinals with over 19 years of collegiate coaching experience, and set up a schedule set to build his team's confidence while challenging them against conference opponents. The year begins at the West Liberty Invitational, where the Cardinals will get their first look at their conference competition. They then will head to three different regional tournaments over five weeks as they make their final preparations for the 2025 MEC Cross Country Championships. They will take on Bethany (9/13), Lock Haven (9/27), and Carnegie Mellon (10/11) as the Cardinals build up their mileage. It culminates in the 2025 MEC Cross Country Championships on October 25th, where the Cardinals will compete with the best of the conference.
The Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team kicks off the 2025 season on Thursday, September 4th, when they take on the West Liberty Invitational at 5 PM.
