NEWBERG, Ore. -- For most athletic programs, a rebuilding year looks like one where the team forgoes success in order to focus on developing young talent for the future.

For the George Fox cross country team, it looked like a fifth straight Northwest Conference title sweep.

After losing a majority of their national-qualifying runners in the 2024 season, the Bruins still managed to win the conference title on both the men's and women's sides. Though they weren't able to make their fourth straight NCAA Championship, there still was plenty of upside for head coach Mike Wilson and the team.

While graduate transfer Emily Foote was the surprise of the season in 2025 for the women's team, stepping into the program in mid-August and being named NWC Runner of the Year, the 2026 season will see the return of a familiar face: Breanna Schmitt. The graduate student, who missed her senior season with an injury, returns to the forefront for Wilson in her fifth year and has impressed early on. 

"She could be top 15, maybe vying for top 10 in the country," Wilson said, "She's that good. We're excited to see where she's at. I know she's got those big national podium goals, and she's going to try and get them."

The 2024 All-American will be joined by fellow 2025 NCAA individual qualifier Hope Bridge, track and field 10k and 5k champion Chloe Cook, and other seniors who are no stranger to the national starting line - Abbie Goodwin and Karina Rodriguez.

"The senior class is a phenomenal group," WIlson said, "Every one of those women has an ability to be in the scoring or has already been."

On the men's side, it's a similar story — a returning fifth-year senior will lead the Bruins. Caden Hildenbrand, the 2022 NWC Rookie of the Year and the lone athlete from the men's team to qualify for the 2025 NCAA Championships, is gearing up for his final season in blue and gold.

"He looked great in our two-mile time trial, and even still, I bet he would like a little more," Wilson said, "He was a national qualifier, and he intends to bring the team with him this year."

Hildenbrand will be joined by Benjamin Bourne, Ethan Sohus, Carson Stockwell, and Larry Trefry Jr. to finish out the men's senior class, a group Wilson hailed as leaders for the entire team.

And while some of the senior leaders may lead by example for the men's team, one of the youngest leads looks like a walking Chick-Fil-A advertisement.

Andrew Dewar is the definition of a cross country runner. He may have changed his hair to a cow-print cut, his pre-race track dances may have earned him a SportsCenter post, but the sophomore from Canby, Ore. can flat out race. The defending NWC Rookie of the Year is a true staple of the team, and has bought into the team culture from day one.

"He brings so much energy and joy to our team," Wilson said. "He's just such a genuinely thoughtful human being. Faith is super important to him, so he's a really big leader in that regard for our team. I'm excited about that; what he brings in focus, faith, and team culture for our whole group."

Dewar is part of a large sophomore class of 14 that includes numerous talented athletes like Guam National Champion Kaito Sakaguchi, All Region runner Westin Madden, Jefferson Smith, Ryan Lippert, Isaac Montanes, and several others that can impact the teams' scoreline. This group of athletes has impressed Wilson, something that is mirrored by the sophomores on the women's side.

Sara Marino helped the Bruins sweep the conference Rookie of the Year awards thanks to an 11th-place effort at the conference championships. She heads an extremely driven group highlighted by Emma Beachy, who worked through injuries towards the end of her high school career to earn points in multiple events at the track and field championships this past spring. In addition, returning cross country All-Conference standout Natalie Oathout will look to continue building on her 2025 success. 

"The sophomores are a very motivated group," Wilson said. "There's so many of them that I have to hold back. I feel like I'm frequently saying, 'We don't have to do that much,' as opposed to, 'Hey, I'd really like it if you'd work harder.'"

On the junior side, Reese Borchert and Marcella Leita stood out at the annual time trial for the Bruins. Borchert has steadily improved since her freshman season, culminating thus far in an All-NWC appearance her sophomore season. Leita, meanwhile, just missed out on an All-NWC award, but was chosen as a member of the conference's All-Sportsmanship team. Wilson noted the leadership both of these women bring to the roster and how - coupled with their presence on the cross country course - these two will elevate the front pack of the Bruin squad. 

For the men, Nate Hamilton returns as an All-Region runner for the group. Jacob Shin, who traveled with the Regional team in 2025, has been another standout, as has Eli Krueger, in the early stages of the 2026 season. Much like the women's sophomores, the juniors on the men's side know what it takes to achieve that George Fox XC excellence — and they make sure they reach it.

"[The juniors] are just workers," Wilson said. "There's some serious talent in the front of that class. They all do a good job of not assigning value to each other and just working off of each other, which is unique and hard for a men's group in particular."

Typically, those hard-working classes will excel at the time trial. Sometimes freshmen can struggle as they attempt to adjust to the struggles of being a college athlete. But for Wilson, he does have the best kind of problem a coach can have: those freshmen aren't missing a beat.

For the women, there's four-time Oregon State Track Champion Owyhee Harguess, Idaho high school standout Claire Matthews, and Seattle-area native Alana Rebar, to name a few. For the men, it's three-time state qualifier Easton Dempsey, 1600m high school record holder Caleb Hawkins, and Rancho Campana's Marco Sanchez. And many, many more. 

" They already add to the culture of the team," Wilson said. "Some freshman classes come in, and they just observe. This group, though, because of their sheer size and because of the collective quality of their character, is already ready to roll. They've stepped right into the mix; they're coachable; and they're really talented. That's a fun combination." 

In the past, having so many talented names across the board — from state champion freshmen with a high upside to NCAA returners — excited Wilson to no end.

But, as success builds on success, the depth is now a given. We know that George Fox has the talent. The next question is how to put it all together.

"I think I would have been over the moon; almost a little bit too excited about a group as good as this a couple of years ago," Wilson said of his teams, "But now, our staff is at a point where we know this group can continue to elevate toward their bigger goals and we just have to stay patient with the process. We have to take care of the next steps in front of us right now."

First and foremost, the next step is getting ready for the conference. The Bruins will get loose with a meet at Linfield on September 4, giving freshmen a chance to lose their first-race jitters and returners an opportunity to get back into the familiar tactics of cross country racing.

Another key meet is the pre-nationals competition in Minnesota. In 2025, the Bruins were barely on the outside looking in thanks to results against national level competition in the mid-season. Now, the team knows what they need to do to make it back to the big dance.

"We have to show up in Minnesota," Wilson said. "The top 32 teams get to nationals, and we are currently right at 32. To show what we have, we have to beat 15 teams ahead of us and then some."

While the Bruins are right on the cusp of another national appearance, they are once again voted the class of the conference. Fox is predicted to sweep the NWC titles for the sixth straight year, partially thanks to the mass of talent the Bruins have at their disposal.

It certainly doesn't hurt that George Fox is hosting the 2026 NWC Championships, either. But even if the Bruins are competing at a familiar place (The former Oak Knoll Golf Course) which hosted the 2024 conference championships and will host the George Oja Invitational on October 17th, that doesn't mean they'll take a victory for granted.

"Our goal is to win again, keep streaks going, keep the sweeps going," Wilson said. "We're not Cinderella at the conference level. At the national level? Sure. But at the conference level, that's not where we're at, so we have to keep the chip on our shoulder."

That chip has stayed on the shoulder of the Bruins since they just missed the national tournament in 2021. While ups and downs exist within any program, those with keen eyes have noticed that same fight in every one of the cross country teams over the past four seasons.

It has stayed through countless major awards, through battles, injuries, and perseverance. Though the athletes may be different. The situation changed. One thing is for sure. 

When the Bruins qualify again for Nationals, it will be there on November 21.

George Fox cross country kicks off their season on Saturday, September 4, as they compete in the Linfield Harrier Classic. The first race is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m., with live results on the GFU Athletics website.