WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. — The West Liberty University women's cross-country team enters the 2026 season with a young roster, a year of collegiate experience behind much of the group and a veteran senior ready to help lead the Hilltoppers through the championship portion of the schedule.

Head coach Michael Guinn II believes that combination could make for an exciting season as West Liberty continues to develop a program whose best days may still be ahead.

The Hilltoppers return a veteran leader in senior Lacey Dimit, who is preparing for her final cross country season on the Hilltop.

Dimit has been a four-year contributor for West Liberty and will provide valuable leadership for a team that still features a significant amount of youth. "Lacey's been awesome for us over four years," Guinn said. "She's going to give us a great leadership role. She's just such a good person and the girls love her. She just gives everything she can to the program. She has for four years." With Dimit entering her final season, Guinn hopes to see the veteran runner finish her Hilltopper career on a high note. "We're just excited to see her get to go out on a high note here," he said.

While Dimit provides veteran leadership, much of the excitement surrounding the 2026 team centers on a group of runners who were freshmen a year ago and now enter the season with a much better understanding of what collegiate cross country requires.

That group includes Alexis Wynn, Naomi Young, Gretchen House and McKenzie Upole, all of whom are back after gaining their first taste of collegiate competition last fall. The roster also returns Emily Dunlevy and Katherine Rutherford, who bring additional experience to the group.

Guinn believes that first year of collegiate training taught the young runners lessons that are now paying dividends. "I think these girls, last year's freshman, learned how to really train for cross country," Guinn said. "What it takes to build your mileage and hold it for a level of time to gain that fitness."

The biggest difference, Guinn said, has been seeing the runners take ownership of that training during the summer. "They've all really ran with it on their own this summer to get ready for the season," he said. "I'm really excited to see where we go."

Rutherford is another runner Guinn is particularly excited about after a strong track season that included the steeplechase. "Katie Rutherford had a great season last year in the track and the steeplechase," Guinn said. "She's ran some really, really good cross country times, and she's put in a great summer of training."

The Hilltoppers will also welcome back Makayla Carter, who missed the entirety of last year's indoor, outdoor and cross country seasons after suffering an ACL injury. Carter has begun working her way back into racing form and rebuilding her mileage. "Getting her back, she's just starting to get back into form and getting her mileage back up," Guinn said.

That return could provide another boost to a group that already has more experience than it did one year ago.

West Liberty also welcomes a freshman class that includes Josie Lesnansky of Edison High School, Kaylee Onder of Indiana Area High School, as well as Kendall Epple and Olivia Shetler.

Lesnansky is currently working her way back from an injury, but Guinn is optimistic about her potential once she is fully healthy. "She's got a little bit of an injury we're working through," Guinn said. "We're trying to get her back to 100 percent health, but I think once she gets there by the end of the season, we'll be in a good spot with her." Lesnansky also continues a family connection between Edison High School and the Hilltopper program, following her sister's time at West Liberty. "Her sister ran for us a couple of years ago, so we're excited to continue that Edison tradition over here," Guinn said.

Guinn also believes the Hilltoppers have added another promising runner in Onder, who has enjoyed a strong summer of preparation at Indiana Area. "She's had a great summer training," Guinn said. "She's very excited to get in here."

With a larger group of runners competing for opportunities, Guinn believes the depth of the women's roster could become one of its biggest strengths. "If any one of those girls has a big year, it could be a really good thing for us from the girls' side," he said.

That depth is particularly important because Guinn is approaching the 2026 season differently than he did a year ago.

Rather than asking his young runners to arrive at preseason already in peak racing shape, the goal is to build throughout the season and have the team's best performances come when the stakes are highest.
The Hilltoppers are in a festival year, giving them a longer season and more time to develop. "We're kind of hoping to see them come in fit right now, but they don't have to be extremely fit," Guinn said. "We have a long season due to the NCAA Festival year for fall sports,  I'm excited to see the growth through the season."

Guinn said last year's team provided an important lesson. "We had a lot of kids come in really, really fit day one, and it was just really hard for them as freshmen and even sophomores to hold that for a whole season," he said. This year, the goal is to build rather than peak early. "We're really working on building throughout the season so we can have our best races at the end of the season," Guinn said.

That approach could pay dividends when West Liberty reaches the championship portion of the schedule.

The Hilltoppers will get an early opportunity to see how they stack up with a home meet before traveling to North Carolina later in September. The regional championship course will be in the Carolinas this year, giving West Liberty an opportunity to preview the course well before returning for the postseason. "We're excited," Guinn said. "Our region is always at Lock Haven, Pa., it seems like every year, and this year it's down in North Carolina. So we want to get to go down at the end of September and preview that course."

The opportunity to see the course early is particularly valuable because it will allow the Hilltoppers to gain familiarity with the terrain and conditions before returning for the regional championship. Guinn has also received some insight into the course from his former high school coach, who now coaches in the Carolinas. "He's given me some notes on the course and different things," Guinn said. "That's their state championship course, so I've got some notes that he's given me on the course."

West Liberty will also make a return trip to Lock Haven later in the season for a fast meet immediately before the championship portion of the schedule. "We'll go up there and really try to get some confidence built into getting into the championship season of conference and regionals," Guinn said.

For a young team, those opportunities to compete on different courses and against different competition should provide another important part of the development process. And while Dimit provides the senior leadership, Guinn believes the long-term outlook for the program is just as exciting.

The Hilltoppers have only two seniors on the current roster, according to Guinn, leaving a young core with plenty of room to grow together. "Exactly," Guinn said when asked if the best days for the team could still be ahead. "The recruiting class for next year is already really, really good right now."

For now, however, the focus remains on the group in front of him.

With Dimit preparing for her final season, Carter returning from injury, Rutherford and Dunlevy providing veteran experience and last year's freshmen now entering their second collegiate season, Guinn believes the Hilltoppers have the pieces to continue making progress.

The goal isn't to peak in August or September.

It's to keep building.

"We're just really excited to see how that group meshes together," Guinn said.

The Hilltoppers open their season Thursday by hosting the West Liberty Invitational at Bethany. 


West Liberty University blends a small-town environment with a comprehensive college experience, fostering students' aspirations through hands-on learning, personalized support, and unique academic programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Learn more at westliberty.edu.