In its first year back after a 27-year absence, the MVNU cross country program fared well as the men’s team finished the year with a 13th-place finish out of 22 teams at the National Christian College Athletic Association national meet, while the women’s team finished 14th out of 22 teams. The two squads also finished 11th at the American Mideast Conference/NAIA Region IX meet.

Now, with the combination of experienced returning runners and talented newcomers, the teams will be looking to take more strides forward as the new season unfolds.

"This looks to be an exciting season for MVNU cross country,” said head coach Chip Wilson, who is back for his second year at the helm. "We have many new individuals on both the men’s and women’s teams who will make an immediate impact on our team. As we enter only our second season, I believe our returning runners have matured quickly and have set a great example for our younger runners. As a coach, I have been thrilled with the improvements and determination in my runners. They have all stepped up to the challenge this season, and it is obvious that they all want to reach their full potential.”

The women’s team returns only one runner from last year’s squad as six of the seven runners graduated. Junior Mallorey Newland returns to lead the Lady Cougars as she will look to top her best time of 23:37 from a year ago. She will be joined by seniors Katie Tracy, Bethany Haught, Kayla Parlin, and Ashley Davis and sophomores Liz Bayless, Brittany Click, and Tessa Swartzentruber.

"After losing six girls to graduation last season, we had many holes to fill on the women’s team,” said Wilson. "However, these holes were quickly filled as we had seven new faces join the team this season. Katie, Bethany, Ashley, and Kayla have all stepped up as senior leaders and have used their experiences to help guide the team. Tessa, Liz, and Brittany round out the new runners, and they are looking for great things this season, too.”

"As a team, this group has a lot to look forward to,” Wilson added. "Our main challenge is inexperience, but these girls are motivated to overcome this obstacle and I am confident they will compete well this season. Our main goal is to keep improving and growing as a team.”

The men’s team returns several of the top runners from a year ago including sophomore Mark Porostosky, who missed by 30 seconds from qualifying for the NAIA national meet. Porostosky set a school record at the AMC/NAIA Region IX meet with a time of 26:58. Senior Tim Grubb (29:36) and sophomores Zach Tuggle (28:09) and Dustin Wine (28:59) will also add experience to the team’s lineup. They will be joined by several newcomers as senior Neil Taylor, juniors Ben Kuhn and Ben Hawes, and freshmen Chaz Rice, David Clark, and Zach Stiverson round out the squad.

"One area that we have greatly improved on this season is depth,” said Wilson. "Like the women’s team, we have added many new names to the men’s roster and these new runners are already making an impact on the team. Tim, Zach, Dustin, and Mark have passed on our team’s work ethic to each of the new runners, and they have all met the challenge and are ready to compete. I am confident that this group will be very competitive this season, and I look forward to watching their continued progress.”

The teams will get their season under way at the Shawnee State Invitational on Friday and will then race in five other meets in the regular season including the All-Ohio Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University and the Southeastern Classic in Nashville, Tennessee. Then, MVNU will compete in the AMC/NAIA Region IX meet and the NCCAA national meet in the postseason with the ultimate goal to qualify for the NAIA national meet.