The Wilmington College women’s cross country team begins its 2024 season at the Clark County Fairgrounds for the Wild Witt Exhibition, hosted by Wittenberg University on Friday. The Quakers will run a 5k at 6 p.m.
A Look Back
The Quakers finished ninth at the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championships during the 2023 season and 36th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet.
Key Pieces Lost
The Quakers have five runners that are gone from last season’s roster. Kaitlyn Rauch competed in all seven races for Wilmington last season and was the lone senior to compete at the OAC Championships and NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Key Returners
Sophomores Hayden Setty and Meghan Cory are back for the Quakers, as two of their best runners from last season. Setty had two Top-20 finishes and three Top-40 finishes for Wilmington. She also finished 42nd at the OAC Championships. Her season best time in the 6k was 24:13.1 at the OAC Championships, while she ran a season best 5k of 20:40.7 at the JennaStrong Fall Classic.
Cory had one Top-50 race for Wilmington last season and finished 53rd at the OAC Championships. Her best 6k came at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional with a time of 23:40.5, while her season best 5k was 20:49.6 at the JennaStrong Fall Classic.
Newcomers
A key piece to this year’s team comes in the form of junior Faith Duncan. She transferred to Wilmington ahead of the indoor track and field season in 2023 and had a great first semester as a Quaker.
She was an indoor All-America runner in the 3,000 meters after finishing seventh before shocking the field in the 5,000 meters during the outdoor season and winning the national championship. She became the first outdoor national champion at Wilmington College since 2006. Duncan looks to bring that success to the course for her first season at Wilmington in cross country.
The Quakers welcome four freshmen to the team along with junior Abby Jo Leiss, who began her time at Wilmington as a member of the women’s basketball team. She attended Badin High School.
The four freshmen are Leah Gorby from Fairland High School. Allyson Merriman is from Xenia High School. Sara Schwierling is from Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington High School. The final freshman is Anesu Zviiteyi.
Coaching Staff
Ron Combs is in his 28th season at the helm of the men’s and women’s cross country programs. Combs is a Wilmington College graduate that has coached countless All-OAC performers and all-region performers during his time. Wilmington’s best finish on the women’s side in the OAC was third place in 2000 and 2011. The 2000 season also saw their best regional performance in eighth place.
Tristen Durr is an assistant coach along with Josh Cyrus and Hannah Jones.
What to Watch For
The Quakers have seven meets on the schedule, along with nationals, if they have a qualifier. The four meets that stand out are Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. Oct. 4, the JennaStrong Fall Classic in Wilmington Oct. 18, the OAC Championships in Tiffin Nov. 2 and then the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet Nov. 16.
