High school girls cross country preview: West Holmes, Waynedale, Triway aim for strong 2025 seasons

The high school girls cross country season began Aug. 18. Here are season previews for area schools.

West Holmes

The Lady Knights graduated three four-year letter-winners but return plenty of talent from last season’s state-qualifying team.

“While the team will miss their ability and leadership, this year’s seniors have already stepped up from a leadership standpoint,” 18th-year coach Kevin Beachy said. “We are excited about our newcomers and looking forward to continue our competitive run.”

Returning letter-winners include seniors Alexis Wagers, Katherine Kaster, Serenity McClintock and Alizah Sigler and sophomores Iriel Mena and Chelsie Cooper. They’ll be joined by three newcomers — senior Laini Weber and freshmen Sophie Arnold and Brooke Hustack.

“We have a good mix of veteran leadership and promising newcomers and look to be competitive,” Beachy said. “We have to replace three veteran runners and will need the newcomers to step up.”

West Holmes finished second in the Ohio Cardinal Conference last season behind powerhouse Lexington.

“(We) would like to (battle) for the same spot, but newcomer Dover has a good team and Wooster will be good,” Beachy said.

Waynedale

Waynedale finished fifth out of five in the WCAL last year but sixth of 14 in the Lorain District and 13th in the Boardman Regional, an indicator of how tough the WCAL is.

The Golden Bears are back for more this season, with nearly their entire roster returning intact. Talor Polen, the Bears’ No. 5 runner in the postseason lineup, was the only one to graduate.

Piper Polen, now just a sophomore, was the only Waynedale girl to qualify for state, and she had a nice showing as a freshman, placing 95th. She started her postseason with a sixth-place finish in the district.

Seniors Anna Pittman (22nd at the district) and Abigail Polen (44th in the district) return, along with sophomores Makena Conrad and Taydum Hasseman. Another sophomore, Mackenzie Holcomb, has come out this year and gives the Bears a bit more depth.

Pittman is a three-time regional qualifier in cross country and a three-time state qualifier in track. She knows about big stages. For good measure, she has qualified for two state swim meets and earned All-Ohio honors in that sport as well as track.

“We have a full team again this season, and we have struggled with this in the past,” Shauna Pittman said. “Last season we only had one returning athlete, and now we have five that are returning this season, so that is huge for us. I expect the team’s strengths to be their hard work ethic and their desire to encourage each other on. This is a great group of girls, and they all help to build each other up.”

Triway

When Triway coach Matt Woods sizes up his team, he sees one thing sorely lacking: size.

Not among individuals but in the number of them. Last year, when at full strength, the Titans were among the best teams in an area loaded with good ones. The “when,” though, was the struggle.

“Last year it took the entire season to get everyone healthy enough to have a scoring team, but we hope that will not be the case this year,” Woods said.

The Titans’ top runner Ella Wigal, who finished eighth in the PAC meet and 17th in the Lorain District, has graduated along with Reese Crilow, Triway’s No. 3 in the conference race.

Lucy Acker was the Titans’ No. 2 down the stretch as a sophomore. Current senior Loretta Johnson was just behind her.

That was it, unfortunately, just four runners in a five-person sport. With a good fifth runner, it’s possible the Titans could have finished in the top three in the conference; with a great fifth runner, maybe Triway could have won.

To wit, at the Lorain District meet, then-sophomore Martha Johnson returned to finish as Triway’s No. 2, and the Titans finished fifth in the 14-team field to secure a trip to the Boardman Regional. Johnson finished 31st overall in the district race to steer Triway to Youngstown for one more week of competition.

With a solid showing at Boardman, the Titans finished 11th among 15 teams, falling short of a trip to the state meet but showing that with a full deck they can play with anyone.

“Depth and numbers will be an issue,” Woods said of his 2025 squad. “We’ve had some girls who have had lingering injuries and been unable to train adequately; therefore, the early performances will reflect that.”

The tough part for an injury-riddled bunch like the Titans is the cross country season is relatively short. The first meets are barely two months from the state final. Athletes not healthy on opening day have little time to get there afterward.

If healthy, Woods likes his team’s chances.

“We have a good mix of experience and maturity, which, if we can keep people healthy and get them fit, should serve us well,” he said.

Others the Titans hope to count on this year include junior Hanna Lamp and sophomore Elena Plesinger. All told, that gives Triway just five runners, so their bodies all need to be able.

“We have the potential to finish in the top half of the conference,” Woods said. “A lot will depend on keeping people healthy, which is much easier said than done.”