WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College cross country teams will be looking to pick up where they left off last season. The women's team secured their first ever Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship and the men's team finished fifth at the event.
 
2025 Season Review – Both teams opened the 2025 season with two top five finishes. At West Liberty, the women finished second and the men finished fifth. Additionally, at Dickinson, the women finished second and the men secured another fifth-place finish. The teams also put together a strong showing at the Greater Louisville Classic, competing against runners from across all three divisions. The two teams closed out the regular season at Oberlin, where graduating senior Claire Anderson (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown) won the meet to help propel the women's team to a fourth-place finish.
 
W&J put together two strong performances in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships. Both teams finished in the top five, and the women's team won their first ever PAC championship. W&J swept the PAC runners of the year with Anderson and senior Dominic Flitcraft (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell). Anderson is the first W&J women's runner and eighth female in PAC history to earn multiple conference Runner of the Year laurels. Flitcraft is the first President to win the PAC men's Runner of the Year since Harley Moyer was recognized in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018.
 
Head Coach Andy Upton on the 2025 season: "In 2025, the men were definitely more inconsistent throughout the regular season and we lacked the experience and depth that our ladies had. However, we had a lot of great things happen throughout the year and was capped off by two of the best runners in the PAC during the biggest moment of the year at the Championship Meet. Dom Flitcraft and Wyatt Stroup (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) were special through the whole race. Dom did what everybody expected him to do and showed that he was without a doubt the best runner in the PAC and then continued on the next couple weeks at Regionals and the NCAA Championship to also show everybody that he was one of the best runners in the country. Wyatt did exactly what I thought he would do when I recruited him.  He showed up in Championships and competed his butt off right to the end showing off his toughness and his talent as a runner. To have 2 of the top 3 runners at the Championships was a special moment for sure."  
 
Both cross country teams went on to have top 20 finishes at the NCAA Division III Regionals. Anderson and Flitcraft both qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships, where Anderson would finish third and become a First Team All-American, the highest finish at nationals in W&J history. Flitcraft was the only PAC male runner to qualify for nationals.
 
"The 2025 women's team is a part of school history. That is something that they will always be remembered for and something that can never be taken from them. It was a special year capped off by a special end to the season. There have been some really good runners come through the program over the years so to be able to do something that no other team has been able to accomplish is something that the girls will always remember. To be honest the whole year was unbelievably special. To not only win the title, but to continue on with the highest regional finish in school history. Then to have Claire Anderson (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown) put the cherry on top and finish 3^rd at the NCAA Championships with the highest placing in PAC history. It was easily the best overall season in W&J Cross Country history by either gender." 

Newcomers – The Presidents add nine newcomers as part of the Class of 2030 to the roster for the 2026 season
 
Men's Newcomers
Digby Bedner (Cannonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan)
Antony Flitcraft (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell)
Matt Lutte (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township)
Ben Piatt (Avella, Pa./McGuffey)
 
Women's Newcomers
Jase Engle (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon)
Leigha Kay (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut)
Camryn Piatt
Ada Ralston (Washington, Pa./Washington)
Maria Tocino Jimenez-Alfaro (Cadiz, Spain)
 
"I expect them to come in and learn from some of the best runners in the PAC and to simply learn how to be college runners. Learn how to train, learn how to take care of their body, learn how to work hard, learn how to rest properly. Be coachable and put in the work. If they do all of this they will continue to improve throughout the season and they will be where we need them to be at the end of the season. There is some talent in our freshmen class for sure. It's not a matter of if we will see it this year, it's a matter of when."
 
Men's Returners  - The W&J men's team will be looking to build off their season last year and are returning key pieces to their lineup. D. Flitcraft returns to lead the Presidents during the 2026 campaign. In addition to qualifying for nationals, D. Flitcraft set his fastest 6k time to open the 2025 season with a mark of 19:15.1 to finish fifth in the event. D. Flitcraft finished in at least 12^th place in all but one of his races last season.
 
Sophomore Wyatt Stroup (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) finished third in the PAC Cross Country Championships in 2025. During Stroup's rookie campaign he set a personal best in both the 6k and the 8k with two top 10 finishes. The freshman was named the PAC Newcomer of the Year last season. Classmate Jacob Derry (Canonsburg, Pa./Corry Area) only raced in one event due to injury last season. In his one cross-country race, Derry ran his way to a 9^th place finish.
 
"When they are healthy they are three of the best runners in the PAC. Having Derry back and healthy will be a huge boost to our team. He is a very talented runner and brings a lot of maturity to the team as one of our leaders. To be honest, that is an area that I've seen all three of these guys progress in. All three have shown great leadership qualities and have been great examples for our younger runners to follow. When they are healthy and running well, the three of them together are a hard trio to beat."
 
Sophomore Daniel Petersen (Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold) finished his rookie season with three top-75 finishes. Additionally, junior Anand Karamcheti (Washington, Pa./Washington) set personal best in both the 6k and the 8k last season. A. Karamcheti will be looking to best new times of 23:59.3 in the 6k and 30:53.3 in the 8k.
 
Juniors Fares Boussaida, Nico Flitcraft (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell), and August Ralston (Washington, Pa./Washington), along with seniors Collin Helmick (Salem, Ohio/Salem), and Ramaniah Karamcheti (Washington, Pa./Washington) will all be looking to pick up personal best times and valuable points for the Red & Black this season.
 
Women's Returners – Senior Cali LaRue (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) will be leading the Presidents' lineup this season following a PAC honorable mention selection last year. LaRue had three top 25 finishes and set new personal bests with a 19:55.3 in the 5k and 24:25.5 in the 6k. Classmate Genevieve Ruth (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville Broadview Heights) also had two top 25 finishes in 2025 and set a new personal best in the 5k with a time of 20:21.1. Sophomore Emily Frankovich (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) raced a limited schedule last season. Frankovich had one top 25 finish in three events raced.
 
Sophomores Brie Crandell (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford), Jaslyn Debnar (Marianna, Pa./Bethlehem-Center) and Gianna Sever (New Kensington, Pa./Burrell) will both be looking to pick up crucial points for the Presidents during the 2026 campaign.
 
Coaching Staff – Coach Andy Upton returns for his fourth season at the helm of the Presidents' cross-country programs. Upton has been selected as the PAC Coach of the Year four times.
 
Assistant Coach Justin Simpson returns for his third season with the Red & Black.
 
"I'm not sure I can truly express how huge Coach Simpson has been for our program. He is an outstanding coach and knows as much about running as anybody I've every met. He without a doubt has played a huge part in the success of our distance runners over the last three years. To have the same consistent approach in the program for a third straight year is definitely a huge advantage as well. To know how your athletes respond to different workouts, to know them better as people, to know the college and area to train better every year. He loves running and he loves coaching those who love to run. These are all huge things that lead into the team being more successful and I couldn't be more grateful for the job that he does and continues to do every day." 
 
Looking Ahead to the 2026 Schedule – The W&J cross country teams open up their 2026 campaign on September 3^rd when they travel to the West Liberty Invitational. The teams have a small break before traveling to another Division II institution at the Lock Haven Invitational (Sept. 26). Both the men's and women's teams close out the regular season with two meets. The Carnegie Mellon Invitational is slated for October 10^th and the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble is on October 17^th.
 
The Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships are slated for October 31^st in Youngstown, Ohio.
 
"Good runners are good runners.  No matter what division they are in.  We are going to see good teams from all 3 divisions this year and we are very excited about it.  We always try to schedule some big meets that will give our kids the experience of challenging courses and challenging competition.  That way they are prepared for the big moments when they happen and know how to handle them." 
 
Final Thoughts from Coach Upton: "The 2026 teams will bring that championship experience to the table but to be honest it will be two totally different teams.  I feel all of our upperclassmen are better than they were a year ago but they will all be in different roles this year.  We have also added some talented freshmen into the mix as well who we are very excited about.  We shall see how quickly they all grow in these roles and gel as a group.   It is a great group to be around and I'm excited to see how high there ceiling is this year."