After sweeping the men's and women's Horizon League championships last season, the Youngstown State cross country team returns for a seven-meet schedule in 2026, head coach Brian Gorby announced.
Five of last season's seven Penguins who earned All-Horizon League honors return to the course in 2026, including 2025 Horizon League Freshman of the Year Patrick Burgos and Horizon League Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year McKinley Fielding.
The Penguins open the 2026 season on Sept. 4 with a trip to Boone, N.C., for the Covered Bridge Invitational, hosted by Appalachian State. The meet marks the program's first appearance at the event. The men's team will begin the season with a 6K race, followed by the women's 5K.
The team returns home on Sept. 26 to the Mill Creek MetroParks Cross Country Course to host the YSU Collegiate Invitational, its lone home meet of the season. Last season, the course saw both its men's 8K and women's 5K records fall to Penguins as Fielding broke the women's 5K course record with a time of 17:35.5, while Burgos set the men's 8K course record in 25:18.7.
Back on the road, the team travels to a familiar course in South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Joe Piane Gold and Blue Invitational on Oct. 2, marking the Penguins' sixth consecutive appearance at the meet. The women are scheduled to run the 5K at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 10:40 a.m.
The Penguins close the regular season on Oct. 16 at the Texas A&M Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station, Texas. The meet will be contested at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course, where the women are scheduled to race the 6K and the men the 8K.
The Penguins will look to defend their team titles on Oct. 31 when they make the short trip to Clinton, Pa., for the Horizon League Championships, hosted by Robert Morris at the Youthtowne Cross Country Course. The men will race in the 8K in search of a fifth consecutive team title, while the women will look to capture their second straight championship in the 6K. The meet marks the first time Robert Morris has hosted the Horizon League Cross Country Championships.
Fielding returns to the Horizon League Cross Country Championships for the final time in her Penguin career. The two-time All-Horizon League First Team selection will look to capture her second consecutive individual title.
Selected Penguins will then travel to East Lansing, Mich., for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Nov. 13. Michigan State will host the meet at Forest Akers East Golf Course, marking the first time the Spartans have hosted an NCAA Regional.
Maggie Hopple, Lillian Katsaras, Karis McElhaney, Caleigh Richards, Megan Stafford and Fielding all return from last season's regional squad, while Owen Brady, Ethan Cope, Brock Farris, Blaze Fichter, Sage Vavro and Burgos return for the men's team.
The season concludes on Nov. 21 at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The national meet returns to Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course for the first time since 2019.
For live updates and results throughout the 2026 season, follow @YSUTrackFieldXC on X.
