The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's cross country teams will kick off their 2026 seasons next week, when the team hosts the Bill Sudeck Invitational on Tuesday, September 1.
The Spartans are coming off a 2025 campaign that culminated in three individuals earning a trip to the NCAA Division III Championship - Jacob Slater and Donovan Crowley on the men's team and Francesca Taracila on the women's team. With all three set to return for the 2026 campaign, the Spartans appear primed to build on their success from last year.
Taracila, a sophomore, will once again look to headline the women's roster, after building up throughout the season to become the team's top finisher at both the NCAA Regionals (ninth place) and Nationals (74th place). Sophomore Halina Tompkins also had a big first year in 2025, crossing the finish line first among Spartans on four occasions and placing 26th at the NCAA Regionals to secure all-region acclaim. Sophomore Reid Smith was also a scorer for the Spartans at the regional meet last season, placing 46th overall to help the Spartans place sixth out of 37 teams at the event.
Adding to the team's depth this season is a strong junior class, led by Becca Liaw and Cecilia Postma, who each finished among the team's top-seven runners at several meets during the campaign. Senior Angie Getz and junior Julia Walko should add additional veteran experience to the lineup, while sophomores Maya DiPasquale, Aditi Mukundhan, Hannah Nevius, Kasey Thomas, and Elena Von Handorf each saw action in several races last year and are aiming to find their way into the team's top-seven in 2026.
In addition, the women's team added a pair of first-year students to the roster in Katie Straub and Josslyn Wade, who will look to make an immediate impact on the roster.
Crowley, a junior, and Slater, a senior, each made their debut appearance at the NCAA Championship last year, with Crowley narrowly missing out on All-America honors with a 42nd-place finish, while Slater was 99th overall. The two also placed among the top-10 at regionals with Slater placing third and Crowley seventh, helping the team to a sixth-place finish.
Two other Spartan returners were among the team's top-five finishers at NCAA Regionals - junior Adam Esa and sophomore Jacob Porter - while Esa, sophomore Jay Woodhouse, and junior Brendan Bradish all scored for CWRU at the UAA Championship. Other CWRU runners to score for the men in a varsity race last season who are set to return this year include junior Adam Joseph and sophomores Devin Montileone and Kian Schneeweis.
The Spartans have several additional veteran runners who will be looking to emerge as contenders for spots in the team's top-seven this season, including seniors Owen Schessler and Praveen Sureshkumar, juniors Lucas Siepser, Eli Stodard, and George Wood-Leness, and sophomores Jack Andrews, Lowell Copps, Thijs Doot, Ryan Gensler, Caleb Guarino, Chance Krenzer, and Austin Schneidler. The additions of graduate student Lorenzo Collier and first-years Gen Ogami, Liem Sidhu, and George Soyka should provide additional strength to an already-accomplished corps of runners.
The Spartans will open the campaign at the annual Bill Sudeck Invitational at the University Farm in Hunting Valley, Ohio on Tuesday, September 1. The Spartans will face off against crosstown rival John Carroll University. The men's 6K race, slated for a 6:15 p.m. start, will feature two of the top-ranked teams in the region, with the Spartans checking in at fourth overall and the Blue Streaks at third. Both teams in the women's 4K race will also enter the meet ranked regionally, with John Carroll featured at fourth in the initial poll, and CWRU checking in at eighth.
Results from the race, along with video from the finish line, will be posted to athletics.case.edu following the completion of competition.
After the Sudeck Invitational, the Spartans will host their alumni race on September 12 at the University Farm, before turning their attention to the All-Ohio Challenge in Cedarville, Ohio on Friday, September 18. CWRU will then wrap up its pre-championship season with the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 2, and the Oberlin Inter-Collegiate Rumble in Oberlin, Ohio on October 17.
The Spartans will then turn their attention to the University Athletic Association Championships, hosted by the University of Chicago in Warrensville, Illinois on October 31. CWRU, which has sent at least one representative to the NCAA Championship in each of the past 22 years, will once again be looking to qualify runners for the national meet when the team takes part in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship in East Lansing, Michigan on November 14. Should CWRU extend its streak to a 23rd-straight season, qualifying runners will travel to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota for the 2026 NCAA Championship on Saturday, November 21.
