Wheeling, W. Va. – A new era of Wheeling Men's Cross Country began on Thursday when the team headed to the West Liberty Invitational. The Cardinals flashed some of their new talent early, but it was the veterans that led the way as the 2025 season began. The Cardinals took 9th overall as a team but would see a pair of their veterans crack the top 60 of the event.
Leading the way was graduate student Hunter Tomich, who was the lone Cardinal to crack the top 50 on the day. He finished 47th overall, coming in with a time of 21:15.2, a 5:42 mile pace, across the 6K event. Tomich would finish 41st among attached runners at the event, and placed in the top 40 among his fellow Mountain East Conference (MEC) competitors. It was the second season in a row that Tomich led the Cardinals at the West Liberty event, after he ran a time of 20:41.3 a season ago to set his PR in the event. He was the only Cardinal to break the six-minute mile mark and was just eight seconds shy of cracking the top 45 of the event. Tomich will look to continue to improve on his times as the season advances as he chases down a qualifying spot in the NCAA Cross Country National Championships.
Finishing behind him was redhshirt sophomore Courtney Rider, who made his collegiate Cross Country debut after being a member of the Wheeling Wrestling team over the last two seasons. Rider would finish with a time of 23:00.4 at the event and needed just .4 seconds to crack the 23-minute mark in his debut. It was Rider's first-ever Cross Country event at any level, high school or college, and he made an impact right away in the field. He set a 6:10 mile pace and will continue to be an impact runner for the Cardinals as they go down the stretch. It was another Cardinal veteran who would finish behind him, with senior Tyler Crook taking 52nd with a time of 25:00.1. It was Crook's first-ever 6K race and he nearly cracked the 25-minute mark, needing just .1 seconds to do so.
Rounding out the event for the Cardinals were Kris Vigars, Aidan McKenna, and Drew Pierce, finishing in the final three spots for the Cardinals. Vigars and McKenna were each making their Cardinal debuts, with Vigars finishing 53rd (27:35.6) and McKenna taking 54th (27:49.9). Rounding out the day was Pierce, who finished 55th overall with a time of 30:20.5 to round out the event.
The Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team returns to action on Saturday, September 13th, when they take on the Bethany College Invitational.
