Fall Preview: Women’s Cross Country

8/31/2026 2:36:00 PM | By: Jamie Dailey '22, SID Assistant

Women's Cross Country Set To Begin 2026 Season This Tuesday, September 1st At Case Western Reserve University

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OH - The women head into the fall looking to improve upon a successful 2025 season.

In 2025, the women placed second overall in their first appearance in the North Coast Athletic Conference, scoring 53 points only losing to Ohio Wesleyan University by ten points.

Four runners earned Great Lakes All-Region honors a couple of weeks after to place fourth overall as a team at the competitive Great Lakes Regional Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

The women will return five of their top seven runners this year and will look to step up in vital leadership roles.

The duo of Anne Rea and Morgan Dobos are back for the Blue & Gold as they will look to help lead this group to prominence.

Both Rea and Dobos placed in the top 20 at the Regional Championships, securing All-Region status to help the team and were key contributors in the women's track & field program to win conference championships in the winter/spring last year.

Senior Kelsey Sheridan is a runner to keep an eye on going into the year. The Medina Highland native shined in her final race as a junior and came on towards the end with impressive performances at the conference and regional championships.

Alyssa Vis is another senior to watch out for as she has become a valuable contributor. The graduate student from Perry, OH qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships last winter and looks to translate that success to the grass.

Samantha Goodnough, Kylie Bennington and Maddie Harrington return for the Blue Streaks to help provide depth and experience to the group.

A couple of first years that can make a potential impact are Ana Buehrer (Berea Midpark High School) and Riley Dempsey (Hoover High School).

Both have run sub 5:20 in the mile, 11:40 in the 3200 meter run, and have competed at the OHSAA District and Regional levels throughout their careers.

The team will travel to a couple of highly competitive meets throughout the year. On September 11th, they will compete at the Spartan Invite hosted by Michigan State University to officially kick off the year. At the beginning of October, they will run at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University.

Coach Daniel Tutskey, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at John Carroll University is looking forward to what the group will bring this year based on the amount of seniors that graduated this past spring.

"After the graduation of so many influential seniors, we're in uncharted territory," mentioned Tutskey. "We have a very talented group of young women and a small group of seniors. As a coach, it will be fun to watch this group grow as we move through the season. I'm looking forward to watching our juniors take a major step forward in their growth and development."

In the recent USTFCCCA Preseason rankings, the women are slated fourth in the Great Lakes Region, followed by a 29th ranking in Division III.

The women will open up the 2026 season this Tuesday, September 1st as they will travel to the Squire Valleevue Farm in Hunting Valley, Ohio for the Bill Sudeck Invitational hosted by Case Western Reserve University. The women's 4k race will start at 5:30pm.

Meet information and live results will be posted on meet day.

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