The time to shine is now for The College of Wooster women's cross country team, which enters the year led by a large and talented senior class.

"This team is coming in with great energy and enthusiasm," said longtime head coach Dennis Rice. "We have some great seniors who are going to really set the tone for the program when it comes to training, the team culture, and what is expected at meets. This senior group has worked hard and really stuck with the program. They have always been able to overcome challenges in a positive way."

Reeve Helvoigt and Elise Wheeler are Wooster's most experienced runners, ranking third and fourth within the team at last year's conference championship. Wheeler went on to post a collegiate-best 26:07.40 at the NCAA Div. III Great Lakes Regional, which capped the 2025 season.

"Reeve and Elise have done an amazing job here at the College, both in the classroom and outside the classroom," shared Rice. "They have both faced some challenges in terms of injury setbacks and have been able to overcome those and strive forward to achieve true potential. We are looking to achieve true potential within our team concept for each team member and Reeve and Elise have done an outstanding job with that."

Seniors Naomi Kaczor, Ellie Fox, Colette Christopher, and Wyn Caudle are all returning letterwinners from last year's conference team. Classmates Zanna Anderson and Cheyenne Wentz rejoin the program after studying abroad last fall. Anderson is a two-year cross country letterwinner. Celeste Probart is the ninth member of the senior class.

"Our seniors have worked really hard to get to this part of their collegiate career," said Rice. "They are excited to be able to make big improvements this season and to finish their collegiate cross country careers on a positive note."

Eilidh Horn was Wooster's No. 5 finisher at conference last year, and Rice feels the junior is "getting closer and closer to making a big breakthrough."

"Eilidh is getting more comfortable with the program and has a better understanding of the type of training it takes at Wooster to achieve the results we are looking for," said Rice.

Aubrey Duggan is Wooster's sophomore and came in as a midyear transfer. She was one of the team leaders in the middle distance events and will be looking to carry that success over to cross country.

Wooster welcomes a six-member first-year class to the program, a group Rice is looking "to set the tone for the future." The first-years are Stella Anderson, Lily Campbell-Lehtinen, Eloise Gravel, Sophie Krummick, Molly Noesen-Bosscher, and Sylvia Rearick.

"The incoming first-year class shows excellent potential that they will make a strong, positive impact within our overall team concept," said Rice.

Wooster opens with the annual Wooster Invitational on September 1, the first date competition is permitted in NCAA Div. III. Key for the women's program will be the Twilight 5K Challenge on Friday, November 6, as the program will celebrate its nine-member senior class. The All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Challenge is back at Cedarville University on Friday, September 18, and the team travels to Oberlin College for the NCAC Championships on Saturday, October 31.

"We are mixing in different meets this year as well with one at Tiffin University and another at Ohio Wesleyan University," said Rice. "This is going to bring in some different competition for us and give us an opportunity to run on different courses we haven't been on for a period of time."