Penn College’s men’s and women’s cross country teams are preparing for the 2025 season with high expectations. The men’s team, aiming for a third consecutive United East (UE) Championship, is returning several top runners while also integrating new talent. The women’s team seeks to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish in the conference, relying on both experienced athletes and newcomers.
The Wildcats’ season begins Saturday at the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen Invitational.
For the men, last season saw them finish first out of 11 teams at the United East Conference Championship and 22nd out of 29 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Head coach Tom Leeser enters his fourth season after earning two UE Coach of the Year honors. Key returnees include senior Mitchell Campbell, junior Chase Ebeling, sophomore Ethan Knapp, junior Holden Furey, junior Jacob Parker, senior Aaron Guerrisky, sophomore Owen Troop, and sophomore Matthew Wheeland. The team will miss Alec Rees, Matt Woolcock, and Noah Bowers but adds several newcomers such as Ben Causak and Olivier Galicki.
Leeser commented on the upcoming season: “The 2023 and 2024 men’s teams have raised the expectations for our program. We have benefitted from having quality runners, strong work ethics and good leadership. It will be important for several individuals, either returners or newcomers, to step up and into the holes left by some key losses. We will strive for improvement over the course of the season with the ultimate goals being another conference title and a strong regional finish.”
According to a preseason poll, Penn College is considered a co-favorite with St. Mary’s (Md.) College to win this year’s UE title among thirteen competing teams. The championship meet is scheduled for November 1 at Penn State Brandywine. The NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship will take place November 15 at Big Spring High School in Newville.
On the women’s side, last year they finished fourth out of thirteen at the United East Conference Championship and 29th out of 30 at regionals. Top returnees are junior Elaina Brady—last year’s UE first-team selection—junior Natalie Greiner, junior Adelyn McDermott, and senior Isabella Telford. Key departures include Lillian DePew and Karleigh Hunter; new faces joining are Alexis Durn and Ellie Miller.
Coach Leeser stated: “Elaina (a UE first-teamer) is our top returning female. Our hope is that she will continue to improve and place well at UE Championships again this fall. We lost some quality runners due to graduation and due to demanding class schedules. We are adding some new faces who have solid high school experience. If they can contribute, our women should have a positive season.”
St. Mary’s (Md.) College is favored to repeat as champion according to preseason polling; Penn College was picked fourth among fourteen teams competing this year.
Both conference championships will be hosted by Penn State Brandywine on November 1; regional competition follows on November 15 in Newville.
