Wheeling, W. Va. - In a season of ups, downs, and growing pains, the Wheeling University Cross Country team is set to take the course for the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Cross Country Championships. Both sides have some experienced runners on the course, and are looking to finish the year strong and build on their PR's. With a brand-new course for the 2026 season, with the race being held at Bethany College, the Cardinals will look to start the postseason schedule strong for their young runners.
It has been three weeks since the Cardinals last took the race course, with the teams splitting up in their regular season finale. The men would be the first to race, taking on the Carnegie Mellon Invitational back on October 10 in their regular season finale. In a field of over 230 runners on the day, the Cardinals would place one runner in the top 200 of the event, and set one PR across their lineup. The women would not compete at Carnegie Mellon, but came back strong at the Wilmington Invitational with a 5K to wrap up their regular season. It would be a field of 120 runners, and each of the Cardinals who took the course would set PR's on the day, with two of those runners cracking the top 70 of the event. While they have been on break over the past three weeks, Wheeling looks to use it as a reset and come back with their strongest run yet at conference.
On the men's side, it has been sophomore Redick Moore leading the way, coming off his top race of the fall. He was the only Cardinal to crack the top 200 at Carnegie Mellon, setting his 8K PR with a time of 29:47.0. It was the second time this season that the sophomore has cracked the 30 minute mark this season, as he continued his bounce back season. He was able to drop 12 seconds off his season-opening time from Robert Morris and was a nice bounce back from Muskingum. He has been working with Wheeling Distance coach Chase Stewart both on the mental and physical side of running throughout the season. He is looking to put together his best race yet as he makes his MEC Cross Country Championship debut to start the postseason schedule.
On the women's side, it was a day of PR's in their regular season finale, with four of the five runners at the Wilmington 5K Invitational setting PR's. The leader for the Cardinals was Jade Trowell, who continued her string of setting PR's throughout the 2026 season. This time, it was her 5K PR that would fall, as she finished 64th in the field, running a time of 22:17.3 to finish 64th in the field. It was another big showing for the sophomore, who toppled her previous 5K PR by over two minutes to round out the big day. Although she missed the Wilmington Invitational, Madison Conrad will return to the course for Wheeling at the MEC Championship. She would finish just three spots shy of earning All-MEC honors a season ago, and is looking to get the first All-MEC award of her career. Her last run would come at the Youngstown State Invitational, where she posted a 5K time of 26:31.0, taking 20 seconds off her first run of the season.
The 2026 MEC Cross Country Championships will be held at the College Soccer and Equestrian Complex in Bethany, West Virginia for the first time. The change was made after the event had been held at Oglebay the last two seasons, on what was one of the most challenging courses the runners face. As they move to Bethany, the course is the same that hosts the West Liberty Invitational to start the season and, even though the runners did not get to race it this year due to weather, they are looking to attack it this time out. Last season, the women were just three spots shy of an All-MEC honor, while the men had one runner crack the top 40 on the day. This year's team will see every male runner taking on the championship event for the first time, while the women's side sees four of their five runners take the course for the second time. They look to make a strong impression on the conference, and rise above last year's mark.
The Details
The 2026 MEC Cross Country Championships will be held at the college Soccer and Equestrian Complex in Bethany, West Virginia. The men's 8K Championship will start the day, running at 9:30 AM, followed by the women's 6K championship one hour later at 10:30 AM. The complete line-up of Cardinal runners is listed below:
Men: Redick Moore, Connor Black, Brody Bolyard, Taven Mayo, Dallas Gambrell
Women: Madison Conrad, Jade Trowell, Luci Banks, Jezabella Cohen, Miracle Jones
Watch the 2026 MEC Cross Country Championships live by clicking HERE.
