By Andrew Bell
The College of Wooster women’s and men’s Cross Country teams opened their seasons at this week’s Wooster Invitational, an annual 4k race that winds through the scenic green hills of L.C. Boles Memorial Golf Course. Being a shorter race than a standard 6 to 8k collegiate meet, the Invitational serves as a great introduction for the invitees to the regular season. Nick Schade ‘27, who finished in the top 10, compared the meet to “ripping off the Band-Aid.” This year, the Wooster Invitational included Wooster, Lorain County Community College and Cleveland State, who participated only in the women’s race.
During the women’s invitational Dylan Kretchmar ’25 narrowly beat Cleveland State University’s Natalie Keller ‘27 at the wire for a thrilling second place finish. Kretchmar finished with an impressive time of 16:38.7 and finished top of the women’s team. While Cleveland State University runners led the field, Wooster firmly placed second in the standings, as the majority of Scots finished with times between 17 and 22 minutes. Jessie Breth ’25 was the Scots’ second place runner, finishing the race with a time of 17:47.5. Three first-year runners finished amongst the top 20, including Zanna Anderson ’27, Reeve Helvoigt ’27, and Elise Wheeler ’27. Wooster juniors Isabelle Dwyer ’25, Lily Baker ’25, Julianna Fiori ’25, Elise Greenwald ’25, and Bri Becerra ’25 rounded out the rest of the Scots team.
The men’s race began upon the conclusion of the women’s invitational. The Scots continued their dominance on the podium with both Drew Robertson ’25 and Will Callender ’25 placing first and second respectively. Robertson ran at a blistering pace and finished the race in 12:57.6, setting a new course 4k record. Callender followed with a time of 13:36.8. The Fighting Scots had seven runners place in the top 10, including Robertson and Callender. Eric Johnson ’25 crossed the finish line in fourth place at the 14:03.1 mark. Joe Ahmann ’26 was close behind at 14:05.6. Ben Nichols ’25 finished in seventh, while Nick Schade ’27 and Zane Demercurio ’26 rounded out the top 10. The Scot men seem to be well positioned for solid performances against their competitors this season.
Both Wooster teams were very pleased with their inaugural meet. Ellie Jindra, the acting Head Coach, praised the team for their effort. “They did a great job preparing for the race,” Jindra said. Callender echoed the positive sentiment, noting the difficulty of the course. “The hills on the last two-thirds of the course are way harder than any race that we will be racing this year.”
Following the race, Lily Baker, who finished in 17th place, exclaimed, “I’m so proud of my teammates.” This meet was Baker’s first time competing since suffering an injury during the beginning of last season. Moving forward, Baker hopes to participate in more meets than last year and to continue seeing her teammates succeed.
The Scots hope to use this experience as a momentum booster for future meets as a source of encouragement and hope. Robertson, the winner of the men’s draw, asserted that the performance will propel the team to “push harder in workouts, keep our base runs tactical, and just train hard and be ready for the season to come.” As the season continues, spectators are excited to observe the continued success of the cross country teams.
On Saturday, Sep. 9, the Scots travel to Granville, Ohio, where they will compete at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Preview meet.