The beginning of the cross country season is less than a week away, and the River States Conference is excited to preview the 2025 seasons for our member schools! Each RSC school talked with players and coaches from their teams, with those interviews linked below as part of Media Day!
Additionally, each school has spotlighted two runners of each gender expected to be major contributors during the 2025 campaign, and are also listed below as our 2025 Players to Watch!
BRESCIA
Male Runners to Watch
Nick Greer
Senior | Lascassas, Tennessee
Greer enters his senior season at Brescia. The senior was part of Brescia's team score at the 2024 River States Conference Cross Country Championships, running the championship course in Evansville at 32:03.3.
Female Runners to Watch
Mallory Wilson
Sophomore | Greenville, Kentucky
Wilson was a Third Team All-River States Conference selection last season, placing in the top 16 of the conference in her first season at Brescia. Wilson's time of 24:52.5 ranked fifth among freshman at the 2024 River States Conference Cross Country Championships.
IU COLUMBUS
Men's Media Day |
Women's Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Jackson Neibert
Sophomore | Trafalgar, Indiana
Jackson Neibert is coming back for his sophomore year ready and motivated to improve on his times from last season. He looks to lead the Crimson Pride with a highly anticipated group of young runners.
Luke Neibert
Freshman | Trafalgar, Indiana
Luke Neibert comes in as a freshman eager to see if he can supplant his brother Jackson as the IUC school record holder. It seems like it will be a fierce battle, but he seems excited for the challenge.
Female Runners to Watch
Phoebe Dowty
Freshman | Trafalgar, Indiana
Phoebe Dowty is a newcomer to look out for. She is excited and motivated to break out as a contender in the River States Conference.
Erin Jones
Senior | Columbus, Indiana
Erin Jones returns for her final year after a great track season. She is ready to lead her team to higher achievements this year.
IU EAST
Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Mylan Nocton
Senior | Centerville, Indiana
Nocton helped the Red Wolves to a third place finish in the RSC Championships. The Red Wolves earned an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championships were he finished 35th overall, good to be named an NAIA All-American.
Axton Fosnaugh
Sophomore | Wapakoneta, Ohio
As a freshman, Fosnaugh finished third on the team in the RSC Championships and second on the team in the NAIA Championships. He was named to the RSC Second-Team
Female Runners to Watch
Chloe Scales
Junior | Centerville, Indiana
Scales finished second on the team in the RSC Championships and in the NAIA National Championships. The Red Wolves won back-to-back RSC championships. She was named to the RSC First Team last year.
Emily Fleming
Sophomore | Sidney, Ohio
Fleming was right behind her teammate Scales in the RSC and NAIA National Championships finishing third on the team. She was named to the RSC Second Team last year.
IU KOKOMO
Men's Media Day |
Women's Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Aden Pierce
Sophomore | Bloomington, Indiana
Expected to emerge as a leader for the Cougars, Pierce brings drive and strong potential to the men’s cross country roster this fall.
Bryce Stateler
Senior | Shepardsville, Indiana
A proven senior leader for the Cougars, Stateler boasts a personal best 8K time of 26:11.2 and continues to set the tone for the team’s competitive mindset this season.
Female Runners to Watch
Alysha Crouch
Sophomore | Muncie, Indiana
Crouch had a strong freshman season and finished 22nd at last year’s RSC Cross Country Championships, and is poised to build on that momentum this fall.
Leslie Sprankles
Senior | Bluffton, Indiana
A consistent performer over her four-year career, Sprankles finished 12th at last year’s RSC Cross Country Championships and will be a key leader for the Cougars this season.
KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN
Female Runners to Watch
Sallie Robbins
Sophomore | Morehead, Kentucky
Robbins is the top returning runner for the Knights of Kentucky Christian. The then-freshman posted a season-best 5k time of 23:02.3 at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge last season.
MIDWAY
Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Carson Milner
Junior | Walton, Kentucky
Milner takes over the No. 1 spot for the Eagle men in 2025. He is coming off a great track and field season in which he set the program indoor record in the 1,000-meter run and the outdoor 1,5000-meter run, winning a River States Conference championship in the latter.
Lance Logan
Sophomore | Tampa, Florida
A second-year runner who will move up in the lineup this year, Logan played a role in Midway twice breaking the program 8K record at two separate races in 2024.
Female Runners to Watch
Ariah Egleston
Sophomore | Morehead, Kentucky
Egleston will look to improve on a solid freshman season. She capped off her rookie campaign by earning Second-Team All-River States Conference honors with an 11th-place run of 24:30.1 at the RSC Championships.
Stevie McSorley
Junior | Flatwoods, Kentucky
McSorley moves into one of the top positions after the departures or two All-RSC runners. She and fellow Runner to Watch Ariah Egleston helped the Eagle indoor track an field team break the 4x800-meter relay school record last February.
OAKLAND CITY
Male Runners to Watch
Eli Mayes
Sophomore | Boonville, Indiana
Mayes is returning to Oakland City after a successful Freshman season. He comes into this year with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of how the Mighty Oaks do things. He has trained diligently this summer and is ready to prove to himself and the team what he is capable of.
Female Runners to Watch
Heidi Breidenbaugh
Freshman | Princeton, Indiana
Heidi is going to play an immediate impact on the women's side. She had an impressive senior season at Princeton Community High School and has already been stepping up in great ways during practice. She brings a renewed energy to the program and will be a natural leader for the Mighty Oaks, on and off the course.
RIO GRANDE
Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Tyler Jenkins
Senior | Barnesville, Ohio
Jenkins enters the 2025 season as the two-time defending River States Conference Runner of the Year. Jenkins won the 2024 title, running the championship course in Evansville in a time of 24:52.3.
Ryder Crawford
Sophomore | Owensville, Ohio
Crawford showed tremendous improvement during his freshman year, finishing as a Third Team All-RSC selection. The sophomore went 15:02 for 5k in track and is going to be a big surprise to onlookers.
Female Runners to Watch
Amarissa Kerns
Senior | Lancaster, Ohio
Kerns has qualified for the NAIA National Championships in each of the last two years, and has won RSC track championships in both the 5k and the 10k. She finished third in the league a year ago, running the 6k course in 22:55.8.
Laura Hamm
Sophomore | South Point, Ohio
Hamm finished fifth in the River States Conference last season during the cross country season, earning First Team All-Conference honors. She was also a national qualifier during the indoor track season.
ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS
Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Ethan DeHamer
Sophomore | Milan, Indiana
Ethan DeHamer posted a time of 31:29 to finish in 87th place at the River States Conference meet.
James Frye
Junior | Terre Haute, Indiana
Frye will use his experience on the cross country and track teams this fall to make a difference for the Pomeroys in 2025.
Female Runners to Watch
Brinlee McCloud
Junior | Terre Haute, Indiana
Brinlee McCloud posted a 30th place finish in a time of 26:13 at the 2024 RSC meet.
Quinlan Teague
Senior | Petersburg, Indiana
Quinlan Teague finished 14th in a time of 24:47.6 at the 2024 River States Conference Cross Country Championships, earning Second Team All-Conference honors.
SHAWNEE STATE
Men's Media Day |
Women's Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Isaiah Lanoy
Sophomore | Lancaster, Ohio
Lanoy, a NAIA National Qualifier in cross country, indoor track (3,000 and distance medley relay) and outdoor track (3,000 meter steeplechase), finished fourth at the River States Conference XC Championships to earn First-Team All-RSC honors, and was 68th nationally in his first-ever appearance at the 2024 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship last November.
Eli Lengl
Sophomore | Sunbury, Ohio
A stout transfer, Lengl improved his 8K time by 25 seconds in less than a month's time, finishing inside the top-50 of his conference championship meet in a 156-runner field. Lengl is expected to contend for a scoring position at every meet on the schedule for Shawnee State.
Female Runners to Watch
Olivia Cisco
Senior | Waverly, Ohio
A terrific distance runner who has earned First-Team All-RSC honors in each of the last three seasons as a cross country runner in the RSC realm (2022 for Rio Grande and 2023 and 2024 for Shawnee State), Shawnee State's Olivia Cisco returns as the conference's runner-up finish and the women's cross country program's lone NAIA National Qualifier from 2024.
Jessica Elick
Junior | Frankfort, Ohio
Consistently placing among the top-two finishers at every meet throughout her sophomore campaign, Jessica Elick has improved her 6K time by over 1 minute, 50 seconds from the start of her career in September 2023 to last October's RSC Championship Meet, running a 24:07 in the 6K to set a personal best and finish 10th — good for Second-Team All-RSC honors.
WVU TECH
Media Day
Male Runners to Watch
Evan McElwayne
Sophomore | Clarksburg, West Virginia
Evan McElwayne is the current school record holder in the outdoor 10K and ranks 4th in the indoor 5K and 3rd in the outdoor 5K. He leads by example both on the track and the course, with teammates who look up to and respect him.
Christian Saffouri
Senior | Beckley, West Virginia
Christian Saffouri has been with the team his entire college career. He had a breakout cross country season last fall as the Golden Bears' number two runner, and he’s poised for an even better senior year with the strong team around him. Christian is both a vocal and example-setting leader who’s determined to leave a lasting mark on the program and guide this team to success.
Female Runners to Watch
Lexie Wikel
Sophomore | Mullens, West Virginia
Lexie Wikel ranks 5th all-time in school history for the indoor 600 and is part of the school record-holding 4x200 relay team. She’s a gritty, hardworking student-athlete who excels academically and always embraces the challenge of trying new events. After a consistent summer of base training, she’s poised for a fantastic cross country and track season.
Peyton Asbury
Sophomore | Hampshire County, West Virginia
Peyton Asbury placed 6th in the steeplechase at the conference track meet during her freshman season, despite having no prior experience with the event. She balances a demanding academic schedule, including weekend classes, while consistently making time for training.