The Wilmington College men’s cross country team opens up its 2024 season Friday at the Wild Witt Exhibition, hosted by Wittenberg University. The team will be running a 6k to begin the season.
A Look Back
The 2023 season was a successful one as the team finished fifth at the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championships and 13th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
The year was highlighted by Wilmington High School graduate Simon Heys, who won five races. He entered the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships having not lost to a single Division III runner all year, and his lone race loss was a second-place finish to a Division II runner at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate XC Challenge. Heys finished 33rd at the national meet and finished his Quakers cross country career as a three-time All-American.
Noah Tobin also was a second team All-OAC performer for the Quakers, finishing 14th at the OAC Championships. He finished his season with three Top-5 finishes, six Top-20 finishes, and an 18th place mark at the NCAA Great Lakes regional.
Key Pieces Lost
Heys graduated as the best cross-country runner in Quakers program history. His presence on the course will be sorely missed. Wilmington only lost one other graduate from the 2023 team, as the Quakers return the core of their squad.
Key Returners
Noah Tobin returns for his senior season with the Quakers. Tobin is a former national qualifier from 2022, where he finished 56th at Michigan State University with a time of 25:47.8. He will look to build on a strong 2023 campaign to try and make it back to the national meet, while also vying for the first OAC Championship of his career.
Tate Yoder will be a junior for the Quakers. He had a pair of Top-10 finishes last season and finished 40th at the OAC Championships and 67th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Other upperclassmen returners for the Quakers are Gabe Moore and Wilmington High School gradaute Tyler Parks. Moore had a pair of Top-40 finishes last season, while Parks had one Top-40 finish during the 2023 campaign.
Newcomers
Wilmington welcomes four new freshmen to the team in Dominic Capocciama, Henry Hildebrandt, Blake Kanniard, and Keegan Kidd.
Capocciama went to Chillicothe High School. Hildebrandt is another WHS graduate. Kanniard and Kidd both attended Logan Elm High School.
Coaching Staff
Returning for his 28th season at the helm of the program is Ron Combs. He is a Wilmington College graduate that has coached countless All-OAC performers and all-region performers, while coaching his first All-American in cross country a few seasons ago in Simon Heys. Under Combs guidance, the Quakers have finished as high as third in the OAC and sixth in the region. His assistant coaches are Tristen Durr, Josh Cyrus and Hannah Jones.
What to Watch For
The Quakers have seven meets on the schedule, along with the national championship meet, if someone were to qualify. Big meets include the Pre-Nationals Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. on Oct. 4 and the always exciting JennaStrong Fall Classic in Wilmington Oct. 18.
Following JennaStrong, the Quakers compete at the OAC Championships in Tiffin on Nov. 2 before the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet on Nov. 16.
