Schedule
Roster
WEST CHESTER, Pa.- On the heels of a fourth-place finish at the 2025 PSAC Championships in Edinboro, the West Chester University women's cross country team enters 2026 with similar high expectations in 2026, led by a strong returning core and a talented group of newcomers who expect to help the Golden Rams continue their upward momentum this fall. West Chester will get its 2026 campaign underway on Friday evening in Coatesville at the WCU Season Opener in the first of three "home" meets that the Golden Rams are slated to host in Coatesville this fall.
"It's been really fun to see this group come back from a solid summer of training," started Leak. "It is always interesting to see how it develops year-to-year and to see how much further along we are each year, not only in our fitness but in our culture and team dynamics. I think we are a really mature team and I think across the board we are starting to believe more and more and have more pride in what we do, which is going to pay dividends for us."
In the preseason coaches' poll released by the league office in mid-August, West Chester was picked to finish fourth at the PSAC Championships at Bloomsburg in November, a finish that would match last season's performance, which was the top finish for the Golden Rams since 2019.
Kristina Tapia (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) and
Jessalyn Welsh (Enola, Pa/./East Pennsboro) are a pair of returning All-League honorees from last fall, as the duo placed seventh and 15th in 22
: 43.40 and 23:15.30, respectively. In addition to their First Team All-League certificates, Welsh and Tapia are both returning All-Region honorees, as they placed 15
th and 21
st in 21:57.9 and 22:04.5 in Lock Haven last November to help guide the Golden Rams to a fourth-place team finish at the Regional Cross Country Championships. This finish was also the Golden Rams' best finish at a Regional Championship since 2019 and was just one spot out of earning a team automatic bid to the National Championships in Wisconsin.
Tapia and Welsh are just two members of a strong returning group for head coach
Colin Leak and the Golden Rams as West Chester also returns
Ana Carlow (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), Riley Dortone (Romansville, Pa./Downingtown West), Rylee McEvoy (Edison, N.J./Edison), Cassie Nugin (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff), Grace O'Brien (Coatesville, Pa./Collegium Charter), and Megan Werner (Bristol, Pa./Conwell Egan).
In addition to the aforementioned deep returning core, West Chester also welcomes a talented group of newcomers, including
Reese Billings (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), Elisabeth Bordner (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle), Ariela Camacho Bucks (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial), Claire Doherty (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury), Violet Forte (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland), Samantha Moench (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), Meya Ranges (Nutley, N.J./Nutley), Leah Richie (Lititz, Pa./Warwick), Milla Scalise (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional), Annie Sellers (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), Carolyn Shadrick (Hanover, Pa./Centennial), and
Madison Taylor (Northfield, N.J./Linwood).
"Our freshman crew has really gotten into it," said Leak. "To be a great collegiate distance runner, you have to embrace every part of it, including the sacrifices you have to be willing to make, 5 am practices, and everything in between. This group has done just that and really meshed into the team dynamic very quickly, which as a coach is great to see."
West Chester will be back in action for the first time in the 2026 cross country season on Friday evening in Coatesville for the WCU Season Opener for one of three meets hosted by the Golden Rams this fall. West Chester will also visit Dickinson for the Long-Short Invitational on September 12, Lehigh for the Paul Short on October 2, Bloomsburg for the Bloomsburg Invitational on October 17, and Lock Haven for the Go-Fast River Run on October 24. West Chester will head back to Bloomsburg on November 7 for the PSAC Championships ahead of the Atlantic Regional Championships in North Carolina on November 21.
