Women’s Cross Country Heads North for Princeton’s Meadows Challenge

Saturday, September 26

Princeton, N.J.

10:15 a.m.

Wake Forest University

Meadows Challenge (Women)

Women’s Cross Country Heads North for Princeton’s Meadows Challenge

9/25/2026 10:00:00 AM | Cross Country

Wake Forest continues regular-season competition out of state.

By: Keion Robinson

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest women's cross country gears up for a second regular-season race this Saturday (Sept. 26), participating in Princeton University's Meadows Challenge.

Hosted on the Tigers' course, the women's 6k is set for a 10:15 a.m. start time. The Demon Deacons will be one of 17 women's teams competing up north. Live results can be found here.

The women's team steps into its second showing of the fall following the men's season opener and team title win at the adidas XC Challenge in Cary last Friday. Earning 25 points with six runners placing in the top 10 finishers, Wake Forest's title was its first at the annual invitational.

The Race

Meadows Challenge
Women's 6k - 10:15 a.m.
Princeton, N.J. (Princeton University Course)

The Women's Field

No. 10 Alabama
Arizona State
Boston University
Columbia
UConn
Cornell
Duke
Georgetown
Iona
No. 19 North Carolina
No. 13 Penn State
No. 25 Princeton
Providence
Syracuse
Texas A&M
Villanova
Wake Forest

Competing for Wake Forest

Last Time Out
The women's team completed its first appearance of the 2026 season at the Virginia Invitational on Sept. 11, notching a third-place team finish.

The Demon Deacons earned 89 points, finishing behind then-No. 13 North Carolina and then-No. 15 Virginia.

In her collegiate debut, freshman Julia Score led the way for the Old Gold & Black, clocking a time of 17:29.7 to finish 15th overall in the field. Junior Grace Wassell was close by at 17th with a 17:36.3 result.

Three other Deacs landed in the top-25, as freshman Melia Kupchanko finished 19th in a 17:43.6 time in her first collegiate race. Right behind her, sophomore Charlotte Tuxbury went for a new personal-best in the 5k, recording 17:47.8. Freshman Emily Cohen rounded out the top-25 with a 17:59.2 finish.

Harriet Blaha, Emily Cohen, Robin Kucler, Melia Kupchanko, Emry Schwalm and Annika Swan all made their Demon Deacon debuts as well.

Season Debuts
A pair of Deacs are primed to compete for Wake Forest for the first time this fall:

Maisie Wilmer | Graduate Student | Sydney, Australia
- Wilmer had a number of standout moments during fall 2025, opening things with a runner-up performance in the Queen City Invite to help the Deacs secure the top spot. She recorded a 6k PR a month later at the Arturo Barrios Invitational and also placed in the top 80 at both the ACC Championships and NCAA Southeast Regional.
Brooke Wilson | Senior | Castle Rock, Colo.
- An All-Region performer in 2025, Wilson earned the honor after registering a 17th place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional (11/14). She finished 31st at the ACC Championships and added a 10th place finish at the Arturo Barrios Invitational after recording a 6k PR.

Next Up
The Wake Forest men's and women's cross country teams will both compete in the 17th annual Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday, Oct. 9. The Deacs last competed in the invitational two seasons ago on Sept. 27, 2024.