NCAC Championships Information
 
This Week's Outlook: The College of Wooster men's and women's cross country team heads to Gambier, Ohio to compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1. The meet is hosted by Kenyon College and will take place on the Owls' campus with a start time of 11 a.m.

Coverage: Live results can be found here. Video can be found here.

NCAC History: Wooster has won six NCAC cross country titles, four on the women's side and two on the men's side. Wooster's women won three consecutive championships from 1996-98, while the men and women swept the titles at the 1987 conference meet. Wooster's last top-three finish on the women's side came at the 2021 championships, while the men were most recently a top-three team in 2018. Todd Fach (1984, 1986, 1987), Jason Kelley (1990, 1991), Scott Michalek (1988), Emily Moorefield (1994), and Katie Wieferich (2005, 2006) are Wooster's individual NCAC champions.

Last Year's Meet (Men): Alumnus Drew Robertson was the NCAC runner-up for the second straight season, while classmate Will Callender made program history at the 2024 NCAC Championships. Robertson was just over five seconds behind individual champion Brayden Curnutt of Wabash College, as the Scots' distance ace crossed at 25:28.90. Callender became the men's first four-time All-NCAC performer in cross country. He was a second-team honoree, thanks to the 11th-place time of 26:24.65. As a team, the Scots placed fourth with 91 points.

Last Year's Meet (Women): Alumna Dylan Kretchmar just missed on All-NCAC honors with the 22nd-place time of 23:58.70. Kretchmar was followed by current junior Reeve Helvoigt (Eugene, Ore./Marist Catholic) and alumna Isabelle Dwyer, who posted similar times of 24:56.47 and 24:59.51, respectively. Helvoigt and Dwyer placed within the field's top-40. Wooster was seventh with 174 points.

An Impressive Debut: First-year Lauren Acker (Atlanta, Ga./Lakeside) showcased a ton of potential with a top-10 finish at the season-opening Wooster Invitational on Aug. 29. Acker went 15:58.5 for 10th on the women's 4,000 meters course, which was the third-best time among Div. III entries in the field. Acker earned NCAC Athlete of the Week status following an 11th-place finish at Otterbein University's Invitational on Sept. 14. At Otterbein, Acker was the top NCAC finisher, covering the first collegiate championship-length race of the fall at 23:20.70.
 
Gabrovsek Stepping Up as Senior Leader: Senior Amy Gabrovsek (Thompson, Ohio/Ohio Connections Academy) has been one of Wooster's most consistent performers this fall, finishing within the team's top three in four meets. Gabrovsek was a top-20 finisher at Muskingum University's Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational with a championship-length time of 27:13.8.

Helvoigt Wooster's Most Experienced Runner: Helvoigt has been one of Wooster's top runners throughout her career. As a first-year, Helvoigt debuted at the NCAC Championships with a 48th-place finish (25:49.7) and went 24:54.4 at the NCAA Div. III Great Lakes Regional Championships. Last year, Helvoigt raced to the 36th-place time of 24:56.9 at conference. At regionals, she had a championship-length collegiate-best of 23:56.0.

Top-Three Scots: Three other Scots have logged top-three finishes within the team this fall. Those performances were logged by junior Elise Wheeler (Westminster, Colo./Prospect Ridge Academy) (Wooster Invitational, 18:48.6), senior Sylvia Direnzo (Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) (Daniel Mullen, 30:02.5), and sophomore Eilidh Horn (Shaker Hts., Ohio/Shaker Hts.) (All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Challenge, 26:38.5).

Men Third at Muskingum: Wooster logged a solid third-place team finish at Muskingum's Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational on Oct. 4. Three of Wooster's five scorers placed within the field's top 30 in senior Zane DeMercurio (Amherst, Ohio/Amherst Steele) (ninth, 28:39.4), senior Joe Ahmann (Richfield, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) (20th, 29:22.7), and sophomore Basil Keck (Madison, Wis./West) (26th, 30:00.1). Ahmann, DeMercurio, and Keck have comprised the Scots' top three at four of the five meets this fall. Sophomore Grant Mentzer (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) was Wooster's No. 3 finisher at All-Ohio (28:54.2).

Ahmann Enjoying Banner Senior Season: Ahmann has ranked as Wooster's No. 1 harrier at four of the team's five meets thus far this fall. He has two top-20 placements with the first coming at the Wooster Invitational, where he covered the four-mile course in 22:43.8. Ahmann has competed in the conference championships each season as a Scot. As a first-year, he debuted with a time of 31:15.0, which was 77th. As a sophomore, he moved up to 65th with a time of 28:45.8. Last year, Ahmann went 29:11.8 for a 72nd-place finish.