Raidel, a native of Kilbourne, Ohio, was a two-year captain on the cross country team at Buckeye Valley High School as a junior and senior and was a member of the state qualifying teams as a freshman and sophomore. She earned Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference First Team honors and All-District status as a junior when she qualified individually for the regional meet. She was also an MOAC Honorable Mention selection as a senior. Additionally, she has won several races including the Baron Blast, the Sweet Corn Festival 5K, the North Union Invitational, and the Marysville 5K. Her personal best in the 5K is 20:48.

"I am excited about the addition of Heidi to our women’s team,” said MVNU head coach Chip Wilson. "She is a very experience runner who has worked hard in high school and was rewarded by earning the privilege of running at the state meet with her team. She has received many awards and she also shows great leadership qualities with her involvement in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and being a two-year team captain. I am anxious to see what she can do this fall as a collegiate runner.”

"Along with her running ability, Heidi has a very outgoing personality that will fit in very well with the other girls on the team,” Wilson added. "It is easy to see that relationships with friends are important to her, and she is the type of person we need on our team as we continue to build our program.”

In addition to running cross country at Buckeye Valley, Raidel was involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes from 2004-2006.

"I chose MVNU because it is a small campus with very good relationships between all the people on campus,” said Raidel of her college choice. "I have not heard anything but good reports about the school from my friends who attend there. My visit showed me that MVNU offers a good education as well as a good spiritual surrounding which I really want in my life.”

"All the professors really seem to care about their students, and personal relationships and friendships mean a lot to me,” Raidel continued. "I also wanted to attend a school where I could continue to run. The school spirit at MVNU seems very intense and I love it! I am a social person and seeing how students get along so well just made me want to come even more.”

The MVNU cross country program was reborn in the fall of 2006 after not having a program since the 1979 season. The Lady Cougars have been competitive in their first two seasons back on the college cross country map as evidenced by the team’s results as MVNU finished 10th at the AMC/NAIA Region IX meet in 2007 and 21st out of 24 teams at the National Christian College Athletic Association meet.