Wheeling, W. Va. – In 2025, the Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team went through a rebuild, with four of their five regular runners competing in their first collegiate season. With a year of experience under their belts, the Cardinals are back on the course in 2026, looking to build off last year's success. Several PR's were set throughout the year by the young team, and they are looking to climb the Mountain East Conference (MEC) ladder in 2026.

The 2025 season put a heavy focus on regional competition, with each of the team's four regular season meets coming against regional opponents. They started the year at the West Liberty Invitational, where the team saw several of their fellow MEC runners right off the bat. They competed across a slew of fast courses, including getting a preview of the NCAA DII Regional Championship in their third meet of the year. In total, the team set eight PR's during the year, with each runner setting their own PR at the Lock Haven Invitational. The team wrapped their regular season up at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, where the team finished with one runner in the top 50. As the Cardinals headed to the MEC Championships, they would take on one of the most challenging courses of the year, and finished  10^th in the field. They would have one runner call just three spots shy of an All-MEC spot, they would end the year with three runners at the Regional Championship event, with their top runner finishing 107^th in the field.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior transfer Madison Conrad, who came to Wheeling after spending two years with Robert Morris. Conrad came in and immediately left her mark, leading the Cardinals in every race during the season. She would set both her 5K and 6K PR during the year, and would nearly earn a spot on the All-MEC list at the MEC Women's Cross Country Championships. Conrad would run a record time at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, where she cracked the 19-minute mark for the first time in her collegiate career. She ran a time of 18:59.3 on the course,  and planted her name into the top 10 fastest 5K times in program history with the effort. She would round out her season leading the way on the regional stage,  finishing just nine seconds short of her 6K PR time from the regular season Lock Haven run. She continues to be the most veteran runner for the Cardinals in 2026, and looks to end her undergraduate running career with a bang in her senior season.

Conrad will be surrounded by a group of second year runners looking to make their presence felt on the team. After setting a pair of PR's during her freshman season, Jade Trowell continued to grow in outdoor track season. She would finish 4^th in the 400 Meter Run at the MEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, while finishing top 20 in the 800 throughout the year. She ran in three races with the Cardinals a season ago, hitting her stride right off the bat with a sub-25 minute time at the West Liberty Invitational. Trowell looks to continue to grow in the cross country program, and be a big contributor during the year. Rounding out the list of top returners is Luci Banks, who was one of three Cardinals to run at last year's regional championship event. Her best finish of the year came at the Lock Haven course during the regular season, when she finished 40^th overall with a time of 26:43.7, the only time during the year where she cracked the 27-minute mark in a 6K race. Banks looks to build off her success and vault herself into the top spots for the Cardinals.

As they enter the 2026 season, the Cardinals will challenge themselves with a combination of NCAA DII and NCAA DI events. Their season begins at the West Liberty Tim Weaver Invitational, where the Cardinals will run the same opening event as a season ago. However, the middle portion of their schedule will see them run against two NCAA DI opponents, their first Division I runs since the 2024 season. They will start with Robert Morris on September 11, before heading to nearby Youngstown State on September 26. It gives the Cardinals a chance to see some of the top runners in the country as they prepare for the competition they will face at the MEC Championship event. They will round out the regular season running in the Carnegie Mellon 5K race, a race that saw several Cardinals set PR's a season ago. The date for the 2026 MEC Cross Country Championships has yet to be announced, but will be held in late October near Oglebay Park. He year will then round out on November 21^st, when the team runs at the 2026 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championship.

The Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team kicks off their regular season on Thursday, September 3, when they run at the West Liberty Invitational.