MEET INFOÂ
- Vaughn's Gap at Percy Warner Park
- Women's 5K, 8:45 A.M. CT
- Men's 5K, 9:15 A.M. CT
- Live Results
- Meet Central
ABOUT THE TOPSÂ
- WKU opens the 2025 season following a 2024 season that saw a lot of growth in the program.
- The Hilltoppers return 12 runners from last year's squad. Kinley Kunkel, who led the Tops in multiple races, is back for her junior season and Jake Younger, a sophomore from Yorkville, Illinois, will look to lead the men's team in 2025. 12 new additions to the roster will rep the Red and White.
- In 2024, WKU was led by the duo of Kunkel and Mary Dye. The two were named third team All-CUSA at the Championship meet last November, both finishing in the top-20.
- Jake Younger led the men's team in the meet with a 35th place finish and a PR.
- Dye and Kunkel also competed at the NCAA Southeast Regionals in Rock Hill, S.C., the first since 2022.
- This marked the third appearance for Dye and the first for Kunkel who led WKU in three meets. Dye managed to finish No. 66th in the meet. That marked the best finish for a Hilltopper in the regional meet since 2021. That year, Savannah Heckman took 58th place.Â
QUOTABLEÂ
On the 2025 opener head coach Lee Wood said "I'm really excited for this first meet. I'm going to use it to gauge where we are right now. Really excited and anticipating seeing our freshman compete. Looking forward to having a good showing."
MEET HISTORY
- The Hilltoppers will compete in the Belmont Opener for the third consecutive season.
- Last season, Kinley Kunkel led the way for the team at the meet, managing a fifth place finish.
- WKU also competed in the meet hosted by the Bruins in 2018 and 2019.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
- The field will be highlighted by local team and Power Four competitor Vanderbilt.
- Four other schools from the Volunteer State will headline the competition in the likes of Austin Peay, Lipscomb, Tennessee State, and host Belmont.
- Alabama A&M and WKU are the two outside of Tennessee that will line up Friday morning.Â
FOLLOW THE TOPS: For complete information on WKU XC and T&F, follow the team on Twitter at WKUXCTF. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
