Wheeling, W. Va. - Throughout the 2025 season, the Wheeling University Cross Country team is dedicated to challenging their young runners with a local schedule that combines conference opponents and regional talent. On Friday, the run of local meets continues as the Cardinals travel to the Bethany College Invitational at 10 AM. The young Cardinal team looks to continue their success from their season debut and continue to lower their times on the course.
In their first race of the 2025 season, the team competed at the West Liberty Invitational, hosted at Bethany College. Both the men's and women's teams had four of their five runners making their Cardinal debut and they had strong individual performances up and down the racing field. On the women's side, the Cardinals had three runners making their collegiate debuts and were able to place two runners in the top 50 of the field of 92 runners. As a team, the Cardinals would finish ninth at the event, and look to continue climbing the ladder in the team standings as the season goes on. For the men, the Cardinals had a little more veteran group, with only one runner making his collegiate debut, and also placed two runners in the event's top 50. Overall, it was a strong first showing for both teams on the course, as they look to lower their times in their second race of 2025.
The women were led by one of the newest Cardinal runners, junior Madison Conrad, in her Cardinal debut. Conrad was the lone Cardinal runner to crack the top 20 of the event, finishing 20th overall with a time of 20:00.1. She was just 0.1 seconds away from cracking the 20-minute mark, and was able to finish 15th among her MEC peers. Conrad is one of two Cardinal runners who have been through the grind of a long Cross Country season, and she looks to continue that success on the course as the season goes on. The other Cardinal to crack the top 50 was the team's other veteran in senior Gabby Baiano. I'm her first race of 2025, Baiano was able to take 46th overall6:57, running a time of 21:33.9. It was good for a 6:57 mile pace for the senior runner as she started the season strong. The two Cardinal veterans will look to continue leading this young team as they build up for the 2025 MEC Cross Country Championships.
On the men's side, it was also the Cardinal's veteran taking the lead in graduate student Hunter Tomich. He was one of two Cardinals to crack the top 50 of the event, coming in 41st overall with a time of 21:15.2. Tomich was able to break the 22-minute mark in his first race of the season, after being the Cardinals top runner for each of the past two seasons. Tomich has come close to All-MEC honors in the last two seasons, and looks to grab that title for the first time in his career here in 2025. Finishing behind him was the Cardinal's newest runner in Courtney Rider, who has been a member of the Wheeling Wrestling team for each of the past two seasons. It was Rider's first-ever Cross Country race, and the junior had a strong showing taking 50th with a time of 23:00.4. Rider is looking to use his stamina from the wrestling mat, and bring that to the race course as he helps the Cardinals compete for an MEC Title in October.
With three regular season races to go, the Cardinals will see a mix of strong local opponents while also facing off against the best teams in the region. This week will mark the Cardinal's second straight trip to Bethany, West Virginia, after running at the West Liberty Invitational last Thursday. Saturday will offer a different course for the Cardinals, with the women running their first 6K of the year and the men taking on their first 8K. With the Cardinals making their second trip to Bethany in two weeks and will once again get to see several teams from across the Atlantic Region across both NCAA DI and NCAA DII. Wheeling's young runners will look to build confidence before taking on the same course they will face in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship later this season in two weeks.
Event Details
The Bethany Bison Invitational will be held at the Bethany Cross Country Course, located on the campus of Bethany College. The women's 6K race will run first at 10 AM, followed by the Men's 8K race at 11 AM. The track loops around the winding hills of the Bethany campus, forcing the runners to tackle the hills while taking advantage of the downhill portions of the course.
The Details
The Bethany College Invitational is set to begin Saturday with the Women's 6K at 10 AM, followed by the Men's 8K at 11 AM. Stay tuned to wucardinals.com for updates throughout the day and a full recap following each race.
