PORT HURON, Mich. — The 2026 season is fast-approaching for the St. Clair County Community College (SC4) women’s cross country team. The campaign for the Skippers, under Head Coach Andrea Rheaume in her fifth year at the position, begins on Thursday, August 20.
The Skippers will have seven meets spread out across three months this fall. They will also travel to a pair of different states outside of Michigan to bolster their body of work.
Last season, the women’s cross country squad raced to a third-place finish at the NJCAA Region XII and MCCAA Conference Championships (hosted by SC4) to qualify for the NJCAA Cross Country National Championship. The Skippers placed 11th out of 44 programs at the national meet in Fort Dodge, Iowa. That result matched the mark also set by the team under Rheaume in 2023.
“I am excited for our season to begin, as we have a whole new team with great talent,” said Head Coach Rheaume. “We have another small team numbers-wise, but that has not hindered us in the past — so I do not expect it to this season. I expect us to be competitive within our conference and the region, with our team’s goal of qualifying for the national stage again. Our schedule is centered around meets to help the team progress and hit some fast times. We have an early home-opener to kick off the dust and shake our nerves. The big positive is our home course [Goodells County Park] is our conference and regional course, so we will have a home-course advantage. In addition to our competitive goals, I am also focused on keeping everyone healthy and having a fun time.”
SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
The 2026 season will begin, as mentioned above, on August 20 as the Skippers will host their annual Skippers Cross Country Showcase at Goodells County Park in Goodells, Mich. Following that meet, SC4 will have just over two weeks off until traveling to Indiana Wesleyan University XC Course in Marion, Ind., for the IWU Twilight Invitational on September 4.
Two more weeks will pass until the Skippers’ third meet on the docket, which will be the Lansing Community College Invitational on September 18 at Grand Woods Park in Lansing, Mich. The following weekend (September 26), the team will make their second out-of-state trip with a stop in Rochester, Ny., for the Harry F. Anderson Invitational at the Matt St. James Cross Country Trails.
October begins for the squad on the second day of the month for the MCCAA Eastern Conference Championship, which will be hosted by Oakland Community College. SC4 will then travel to Muskegon, Mich., for the MCC Jayhawk Invitational at the University Park Golf Course on October 17.
The Jayhawk Invitational will be the final regular-season meet for the Skippers. The postseason will commence on October 30, when the team will once again host the NJCAA Region 12 Championship and the MCCAA Championship at Goodells County Park.
Should the Skippers qualify for the national meet again this season, the NJCAA Division II National Championship will be on November 14, from John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala.
ROSTER OUTLOOK
SC4 will carry a roster of eight into the new campaign. Of those eight, seven are incoming freshmen. The team’s veteran will be sophomore Lillian Rutallie — however, she competed solely on the women’s track side last season and did not race in an official cross country meet. That means all seven will make their collegiate debuts this fall.
The full squad, along with their high school, includes Makenna Gwisdalla (Bad Axe) Juliana Keeler (Port Huron), Brianne King (Bloomfield Hills), Samantha Langolf (Port Huron Northern), Lydia McBride (Marysville), Madison Prowse (Brown City), Lillian Rutallie (Marysville), and Gracie Sparrer (Brown City). All eight will look to make an immediate impact and send the team to the national championship for a second-straight season.
For the full list of meets in order and more information on the women’s cross country program as the season progresses, visit SC4Skippers.com.
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For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff, SC4, at srutallie@sc4.edu
St Clair County Community College (SC4) was founded in 1923 and is the only public higher education institution in the thumb of Michigan. SC4 is a comprehensive community college that provides certificates and degrees for employable skills and college credits that can be transferred to a four-year college or university. The college provides collegiate arts and athletics for the area and has been an asset for students and the Port Huron community for over one hundred years.
