Bre Rupe is in her fifth year as a member of the Youngstown State track and field and cross country coaching staffs.
In her four seasons, the women have captured the Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Championships on three occasions. The men won the triple crown in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 - Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor HL titles. YSU also won swept the indoor and outdoor titles in 2021.
At the 2024 Horizon League Cross Country meet, the men dominated placing five runners in the top eight finishers. Hunter Christopher repeated as the league champ to lead the way. For the women, McKinley Fielding placed second at the HL meet while Caleigh Richards was named the Freshman of the Year. At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the men's team tied its school record for best team finish by coming in ninth. Christopher led the way finishing 11th. The women had a strong performance placing 20th. Following the season, Christopher was named the Horizon League's Athlete of the Year.
The 2025 track season might have been one of the best in program history for the distance crew. Highlighting the efforts were standout Hunter Christopher who received Honorable-Mention All-America honors in the 5,000m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Christopher finished an impressive sixth place at the NCAA East Prelims to advance to the NCAAs for the first time.
At the HL outdoor meet, three different men won the 10,000m, 5,000m, steeplechase. YSU also added a victory in the 800m as well. The women had the second-place performers in the 10,000m and the steeplechase. At the indoor meet, the men cruised to first-place performances in the 3,000m and the 5,000m races. The women won the 5,000m and took second in the mile.
In 2024, the men dominated during the indoor and outdoor season. At the indoor meet, Christopher won the 5,000m while Meadows won the 3,000m, Sage Vavro won the mile and William Hanchosky was second in the 800m. At the outdoor meet. At the outdoor meet, Christopher won the 10,000m while Meadows was second in the 5,000m and Connor Shingleton was third in the steeplechase. During the cross country season, Christopher won the league race as the Guins repeated as team champions. At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the Guins finished a school best ninth. Following the season, Christopher was named the Horizon League's Athlete of the Year.
In 2023, Morgan Cole again led the way for the program. At the Outdoor HL meet, Cole placed second in the 1,500m. During ths season she ran personal-best times in the 1,500m and the 5,000m. At the Indoor HL meet, she was second in the mile while setting the school record in the event on Jan. 13. She also produced career-best times in the 3,000m and 5,000m during the year. At the HL Cross Country Championships, she was runner-up as well.
Cole became the first YSU woman in program history to win the individual Horizon League Cross Country Champion title in 2022. She ran a 21:25.5 at the Horizon League Championship to win the league, finishing 30 seconds ahead of the competition. Cole was named the Women's Athlete of the Year, a title no Penguin has earned before, following her many notable performances in 2022.
After winning the HL cross country title in November Cole won the mile, 3,000m and 5,000m runs in February and took first in the 5,000m and 10,000m races in May. At the HL Indoor meet, YSU had three of the top five finishers in the mile.
The Penguins won the 2022 Horizon League Outdoor and Indoor Track and Field Championship. Outdoors,Cole was the Horizon League Champion in the 5,000m and 10,000m while Nicole Squatrito was the 1500m champion. Squatrito also set the 800m (2:10.52) and 1500m (4:26.54) school records during the year and was named HL's Alfreda Goff Outdoor Track and Field athlete of the year. Indoors, Squatrito set the indoor 800m record (2:11.11) en route to winning the 800m at Horizon League. YSU took first and second in the mile with Squatrito winning in 4:55 while Natalie Fleming secured second. Cole was also a two-event champion winning the 3000m and 5000m.
Rupe was a standout four-year distance runner at Walsh from 2016-20.
She earned her bachelor's degree in Marketing from Walsh in 2019 while picking up her Master of Business Administration in 2020.
While running at Walsh, she was a two-time national qualifier with the DMR where I ran the 800m leg. During my junior year, the Cavaliers placed fifth at the indoor national meet, earning All-America status. She also qualified for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in 2019 where Walsh placed 10th, the highest finish in school history.
A native of Hartville, Ohio, she is a graduate of Marlington High School.
She is married to assistant coach, Eric Rupe. The couple resides in Youngstown.
