Senior Miki Rae, a two-year letterwinner in cross country, projects to start the season as a top-three harrier for the Scots.

With a new season on the imminent horizon, The College of Wooster's men's cross country team is looking to embrace the across-the-board success turned in by last year's senior-driven team, and keep the program positioned in the top third of the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Wooster finished third at all three – cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field – NCAC Championships last year, had qualifiers for the NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships for the first time since 2003, and alumnus David Westcott capped his career at the Div. III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Despite several key graduation losses to the distance group in particular, veteran head coach Dennis Rice is heading into the cross country season with a wealth of optimism that his core returnees will be able to sustain the championship-level aspirations within the program.

"This will be an exciting year for the younger men to step up," said Rice. "We're excited about the potential we have within the team setting to fill those spots, and we're confident our experience will carry over to give us ultimate success come the championship portion of the season."

Junior Matt Klonowski and senior Aedan Pettit headline Wooster's returnees, and both are looking to display their award-winning results from the track on the cross country course. Factor in senior Miki Rae, who returns to the program after studying abroad this spring, and Rice has a very strong top three to build the 2019 team around.

"Matt and Aedan both stepped up and performed really well and understand what it takes to compete at the championship level," said Rice. "Our top three should be very solid, and we're confident they'll be able to set the tone to get the rest of the men to fall into where they need to be come the NCAC Championships."

An experienced core of returnees comprised of junior Noah Crane, sophomore Alexander DeLong, senior Henry Epling, sophomore Joe Henry, sophomore Will McMichael, senior Nick Shiach, sophomore Grant Sprague, and junior Jackson Todd, plus four first-years, will be tasked with closing the gap between Wooster's top three and the rest of the team, and Rice notes "we'll have some question marks" if that doesn't come to fruition.

"We've got to develop a four through seven," stated Rice. "If we can do that, we'll be a very competitive program both at the conference and regional level. This is a big season for us, especially coming off a third-place NCAC and eighth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional. We want to build off that enthusiasm heading into the future."

The Fighting Scots' season commences on Friday, August 30, when the College hosts its long-standing Wooster Invitational at L.C. Boles Memorial Golf Course.