Cullowhee, N.C. – A three-race regular season spread across three different states awaits the Western Carolina men's and women's cross country teams as head coach Jesse Norman today released the 2025 cross country schedule.
The Catamounts begin the season with a trip to Boone, N.C., for the second consecutive season and the fifth time in seven years as they take on the Covered Bridge Open on Aug. 29. The WCU men's team claimed a third-place finish at the season-opening race a year ago, while Katherine Hopkins came home 16th individually to help push the women's squad to fifth place.
The distance Catamounts then hit the midway mark of the regular season with the Virginia Invitational on Sept. 12. The trip to Charlottesville, Va., marks the first time the Catamounts have traveled to the Commonwealth in the regular season. However, WCU has run the Panorama Farms course as recently as 2019 for the NCAA Southeast Regionals.
The concise regular season closes on Oct. 18th as the Catamounts return to Spartanburg, S.C., as they take part in the Upstate Invitational for the fifth consecutive season. The month-long break in the schedule served the Catamounts well last season, as the men's team rolled to a runner-up finish at the USC Upstate-hosted meet.
November opens with the 2025 Southern Conference Championships in Mill Spring, N.C., at the Tryon Equestrian Center on Saturday, Nov. 1. Last season, the Western Carolina men's team continued its late-season run at the conference championship race, finishing as conference runners-up for the first time since 1993.
The Catamounts return to Charlottesville, Va., for the Virginia-hosted NCAA Southeast Regionals on Nov. 14, while the National Championships are slated for Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 22. The National Championship race will take place on Missouri's Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount cross country and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports) and Twitter (@catamounts, @catamountxctf).
