Wheeling, W. Va. - After running in two different local races, the Wheeling University Cross Country team takes their longest trip of the 2025 season on Saturday. They will get a small preview of the 2025 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championship course as they travel to the Lock Haven Invitational. It will give the Cardinals a chance to continue building their young program, while getting to set a benchmark for them to use against the rest of the teams in the Atlantic Regional.
Last time out, the Cardinals took on the Bethany Invitational, where they got the chance to face several local schools as well as Mountain East Conference (MEC) competition. On the men's side, the Cardinals had several strong individual performances, and finished fifth out of the six teams in the field. Within that was the team's first top 10 finisher of the season, as well as two top 20 finishers to round out the day. On the women's side, the Cardinals had four runners at the event, with each putting up strong individual performances on the day. Leading the way was the team's first top 10 finisher of the season, while three of the four Cardinal runners were competing in their first 6K events of their collegiate careers. It was another strong showing for both programs as they continue to grow on the course.
Leading the way for the men was sophomore Magnus Polkner, who made his season debut after missing the team's opening meet. He hit the course with a bang, taking 6th overall at the 8K event, running a time of 27:48.1, for the team's first top 10 finish of the season. He put up a mile pace of 5:36 in the event, and finished just 37 seconds shy of his career 8K PR. Finishing behind him was graduate student Hunter Tomich, who picked up a top 20 finish, taking 17th overall in the field. He would run a time of 28:54.2 and put together a mile pace of 5:49 for the day. Polkner and Tomich are the two veterans who look to help this young roster grow, and they look to continue their strong performances on the course this season.
On the women's side, it was Madison Conrad that led the way, finishing 8th overall and 2nd among the MEC competition in the field. Conrad would run a time of 24:40.9, with a mile pace of 6:37, as she led the Cardinals for the second straight event. The junior transfer finished just 27 second behind the top MEC runner in the field, and was just 10 seconds off her mile pace from the previous week. The other top runner for the Cardinals was freshman Lucy Banks, who finished 48th overall. She would run a time of 27:52.1 to start off her 6K collegiate career, and had her best mile pace of the season at 7:28. The young Cardinal team looks to continue to grow on the course and build a strong foundation for the Cardinals into the future.
With two more races to go on the regular season schedule, the Cardinals will continue to build themselves up for the MEC Cross Country Championships, October 25th at Oglebay Park. Wheeling will get the chance to tackle the Lock Haven Cross Country course this weekend, the same course that they will attack at the 2025 NCAA DII Atlantic Region Cross Country Championships. It is a traditionally fast course, and the Cardinals look to set several more PRs at the event. With teams from across the Atlantic Region also running at the event, Wheeling looks to show how they have grown and continue to build on their times on the course.
The Details
The Lock Haven Invitational is scheduled for Saturday, September 27th, on the West Branch Cross Country Course at Lock Haven University. The men will kick-off the day in the "White" 8K at 11:30 AM, followed by the women in the "White" 6K at 12:15 PM. You can follow along with live results by clicking HERE.
