WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's cross country team is finishing its preparations to get its 2025 season underway on Friday night in Unionville for the WCU Season Opener.
Now entering its third season under the tutelage of Director of Cross Country and Track and Field,
Colin Leak, West Chester will look to build off its successes from last fall and improve upon a seventh-place finish at the PSAC Championships last October.
"We've had a really good start to the year with a few great weeks of training," opened Leak. "It's been terrific to see how the team continues to evolve each year, and I think our culture is really growing to a place that we want it to be. We are heading into this first weekend knowing that we still have a lot of work to be done, but this will be a good first chance to see where some people are at, especially our newcomers, making that jump from high school to college. The transition from high school to college in cross country is tough, the way the mileage goes up, so opening up with a 5K at home will let us at least see what our fitness is like heading into the rest of the schedule," explained Leak.
West Chester was tabbed seventh in the PSAC Preseason coaches poll released in August and Leak and the Golden Rams have good reason to be excited about the potential that lies ahead in 2025 with a strong returning group and a number of talented newcomers joining the program.
Kristina Tapia (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) headlines the returning group after finishing eighth at the PSAC Championships in 22 minutes and 51.9 seconds, marking the top individual finish by a Golden Ram at the Championships since Bella Marchini in 2022. Tapia followed this up with an All-Region finish (16
th-21:42.2) in Lock Haven two weeks later, which was nearly good enough to punch her ticket to the National Championships.
Taylor Atkinson (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) narrowly missed out on All-League honors as well at the PSAC Championships, finishing 31
st in 23:40.50.
Jessalyn Welsh (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro) was 39
th in 23:52.40, and
Ellie Goldberg (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) was 49
th in 24:14.40.
The quartet of Tapia, Atkinson, Welsh, and Goldberg is joined by
Grace O'Brien (Coatesville, Pa./Collegium) as the lone other returner for Leak's Golden Rams.
West Chester also welcomes several talented newcomers, including
Ana Carlow (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), Riley Dortone (Romansville, Pa./Downingtown West), Rylee McEvoy (Edison, N.J./Edison), Nishi Patel (Easton, Pa./Easton), Megan Werner (Bristol, Pa./Conwell Egan), Abbie Williams (Huntley, Il/Huntley), and Alaina Zabielski (Deptford, N.J./Deptford).
"I'm happy with what our upperclassmen have done this season. As seniors, Kristina (Tapia) and Ellie (Goldberg)have done a great job being strong, consistent leaders and really setting the tone/showing our newcomers the ropes. Our freshmen are working hard and making that adjustment from high school to college mileage well. At this point, it's all about keeping them healthy, but this is really a great group to work with."
West Chester is set for a busy fall season, which will see the Golden Rams compete each weekend between now and the end of October, beginning with the WCU Season Opener on Friday evening in Unionville.
West Chester will head to the D2/D3 Challenge hosted by Kutztown next weekend before visiting Haverford for the Main Line Invitational on Friday, September 19
th. The Golden Rams will conclude September with a visit to the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational before making the trip back to Lehigh for the Paul Short Invitational on October 3. The Golden Rams will host once again on October 11 before visiting Gettysburg for the Aubrey Shenk Invitational on October 18. The final two meets on the schedule are the PSAC Championships in Edinboro on October 25 and the NCAA Regional Championships in Lock Haven on November 8.
