DAYTON – The Wright State cross country teams kicked off the 2025 season on Friday night as the Raiders hosted the Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic at Fairborn Community Park.
 
The Raider men finished third in their 13-team 5K race, with the Wright State women turning in a fifth-place finish in the 11-team women's 5K race. Patrick Statzer paced the Raider men with his 16th-place individual finish while Shelby Hept was 24th to lead the Wright State women.
 
The men finished with three Raiders inside the top 30, with Statzer finishing with a time of 15:00.6, followed by Evan McPherson in 27th with his 15:12.6 mark and Blake Rodgers' time of 15:16.9 in 29th. Hept turned in a 18:43.1 mark in the women's race, while Sydney Thomson was 30th with her 19:01.9 time for the second Raider inside the top 30.
 
The race was a tremendous kickoff to the season for Wright State, who saw 20 different entrants in the men's race and 18 in the women's race.
 
Wright State is back in action in two weeks, competing at 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.