Men’s Cross Country Seeks To Close The Gap

This year's theme for The College of Wooster men's cross country team is to close the gap, and if they can do that, they will be in a prime position to compete come mid-November.

"Closing the gap takes a lot of hard work, commitment, and is about progression," said head coach Dennis Rice. "For us, part of that is experience, development, and having the confidence and team commitment to put in the work – the little things - to enhance the overall performance, and every team member needs to take advantage of that."

Rice returns a solid core, including his top five finishers from last year's North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, in which the men placed fourth overall.

Wooster had a trio of All-NCAC performances in Drew Robertson, Will Callender and Eric Johnson.

Robertson and Callender were first team performers, finishing second and third at times of 25:52 and 25:58.9, respectively. Robertson and Callender also went on to earn All-Region marks at the NCAA DIII Great Lakes Regional Championships.

Standing in their way, however, was Wittenberg's Conor Kolka who ran a time of 25:27.2 to earn first place at the NCAC Championships. Kolka returns for his senior campaign as well.

While Robertson and Callender are the two primed to lead the pack, Wooster should also get solid output from seniors Johnson and Ben Nichols.

Johnson claimed the final All-NCAC Third Team spot with a 21st-place finish (26:52.8). He'll look to improve his best time as will Nichols who finished 28th at 27:08.5 – a year out from earning All-NCAC Third Team honors in 2022.

Joe Ahmann was Wooster's other NCAC scorer and returnee after placing 65th overall with a time of 28:45.8.

Robertson, Callender, Johnson and Nichols lead a 10-person senior class who have mostly been together since the beginning. Amongst them is Will Christopher, who joins Callender as team captains.

"This is going to be an exciting season for us," Rice said. "We have a group of seniors who have worked hard and made a strong commitment both academically and athletically. We're really looking to finish off their career at the highest possible level, which is to compete for a conference title and to give us a shot at the regional championships to get into that top 10 and to see if we can get to the national championship.

"It's tradition here at Wooster with a group that comes in together and sticks together to really strive to hit the ultimate peak by the time they are seniors, and this is that year for this group to show what they are capable of doing."

There are spots open for others as Wooster looks to fill its top seven. Whether that comes from the seniors or the underclassmen, Rice emphasizes it's going to happen with the work they put in.

"We have that strong core group of the top four who are seniors, but we're also setting the tone for the future for the other group to continue to get experience, especially at the championship level," Rice said. "Opportunities are going to be there for a lot of those team members, and we're excited to see who is going to step up to be a part of that group."

Cross Country opens the season Aug. 30 when they host the Wooster Invitational. It's one of two home meets for the Scots, with the other being the Wooster Twilight 5K Challenge on Nov. 8.

Wooster will travel to DePauw University for the NCAC Championships on Nov. 3 and will make another trip to Indiana for the NCAA DIII Great Lakes Regional Championship in Shelbyville.