DAYTON — The Wright State cross country teams open its 2025 season by hosting the annual Mike Baumer XC Classic on Friday evening at Fairborn Community Park. The men's 5,000-meter run will kick off the meet at 6 p.m. while the women's 5K race will follow at 6:45 p.m. Admission will be $5 per car for spectators.
 
The meet is in honor of Raider great Mike Baumer, a three-time national qualifier as a runner for the Raiders who restarted Wright State's program in 1984, coaching through the 1999 season.
 
Wright State men's team will race against 13 teams and the women's team will race against 12 teams in the home meet. Notable competitors include Butler, Cedarville, Ohio State, Central State, and Northern Kentucky.
 
The course is relatively flat and fast with all grass footing, consisting of two 2,500-meter loops. Click here to view the course map.

The Raider men finished tied for second in their nine-team 5K race, with the Wright State women turning in a fifth-place finish in the eight-team women's 5K race in last year's Mike Baumer Classic. Blake Rodgers paced five Raiders inside the top 15 with his fifth-place individual finish on the men's side while Emma Johnson was sixth to lead four Wright State women inside their top 20 finishers.
 
After the Mike Baumer Classic, the Raiders will turn their focus to the Rumble In The Fort on Friday, September 20, hosted by Purdue Fort Wayne. The same course will be the site of the 2025 Horizon League Cross Country Championships later in November.