MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan track and field team is set to begin its indoor season, as they'll travel to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the two-day UW Oshkosh Early Bird Open. 

The pentathlon will open things up on Friday, December 8th at 1:30 p.m. ET. A pair of freshmen in Eva Zonca and Natasha Nowakowski will compete for the Green and Gold. The rest of the team will compete on Saturday, with track events starting at 12:30 p.m. ET and field events getting going following the wrap-up of the multi schedule. 


Follow The Action
Follow @NMU_Track_Field and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the events. 

Friday, December 8 - Pentathlon at UW Oshkosh Early Bird Open at 1:30 p.m. ET
Watch  |  Live Results

Saturday, December 9 - at UW Oshkosh Early Bird Open at 12:30 p.m. ET
Watch  |  Live Results


Last Season
The Green and Gold finished 2022-23 in third place at the Indoor GLIAC Championships, tying its best program finish. Crystal Walker, now a junior, had two podium finishes, going second in the Long Jump (5.62m) and second in the 60m Hurdles (8.79). Walker also set a school record in the Long Jump at Minnesota State last season, reaching 5.92m. 

Jacqueline Smith had another podium finish for NMU, reaching 1.57m in the High Jump to tie for third place in the event. 


Coach Jenny Ryan
Also leading the Cross Country team since 2007-08, Jenny Ryan enters her 10th season as head coach of the track and field program. Ryan has had seven instances of student-athletes qualifying for the NCAA National Championships, with Crystal Walker taking 13th in the Long Jump last season. 

NMU has seen great academic success under Ryan, as they have been named an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association each year she has been the head coach. To earn this distinction, a team must have recorded a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or better and posted a team score at their respective NCAA regional championship.