Buckeyes Begin Campaign Friday in Dayton

Friday, September 4

Dayton, Ohio

6 p.m.

Ohio State

Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic

Buckeyes Begin Campaign Friday in Dayton

9/2/2026 4:02:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

Mike Baumer Classic first of four regular season events

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's and women's cross country teams begin the 2026 campaign in the Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic Friday in Fairborn, Ohio. The event, hosted by Wright State at Fairborn Community Lower Park, features a men's 5K at 6 p.m. and a women's 5K at 6:45 p.m.

Meet Information | Live Results

B1G Ones to Watch

Entering the year, Noah Sharp of the men's team and Audrey DeSantis of the women's team were named to the Big Ten Conference Runners to Watch lists.
DeSantis, from Springfield, Ohio, is in her fifth year as a Buckeye. She did not compete in 2025 because of injury, but has raced in three Big Ten Championships (2022, '23, '24), two NCAA Regional Championships (2022, '23) and the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Sharp, a senior from Lancaster, Ohio, raced in all six events last season in his first year with the Buckeyes. He was a counter in five events, including the conference and regional meets.

Buckeye This and That

This is the fourth time in five years the Buckeyes are starting the season at the Wright State meet. The men and women both won the team titles in 2022 and '23.
At the Mike Baumer Classic last year, the Buckeye women finished first with 18 points and the men placed second with 34. Both squads had all five counters in the Top 10.
The women's squad returns 10 runners from last season, including Olivia Holbrook, Allie Kosper, Zoee Lehman and Sydney Stevenson who all ran in the 2025 Big Ten Championships, with Kosper and Lehman also appearing in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships.
On the men's side, nine Buckeyes from the 2025 squad are back, including five who ran in both the Big Ten and NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships – Jack Agnew, Chance Basilone, Andrew Rohde, Noah Sharp and Liam Shaughnessy, along with Colin Cernansky, Will McGraw and Zach Zielke who all raced in the conference meet.
The men's squad added two members of the track team to the cross country roster in Cooper Citro and Jaxson Eckert, along with freshmen Brock Jarrett, Nixon Snavely and Will Wells.
Six newcomers are on the women's roster – transfer Alexa Fortman and freshmen Elle Cargould, Camryn Cayne, Ruby Lewis, Layla Sahaydak and Ava Shepard.

The Schedule Ahead

Next week, the Buckeyes will run in the Spartan Invitational Sept. 11 in East Lansing, Mich.
The squad will then return to action Oct. 2 in Bethlehem, Pa., in Lehigh's Paul Short Run.
The regular season ends in College Station, Texas with the Arturo Barrios Invitational Oct. 16.