CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 16 Northern Michigan cross country team delivered a statement performance on Friday evening, racing to a first-place finish out of 18 teams at the Royals Challenge hosted by Queens University of Charlotte.

The Wildcats edged out No. 19 Catawba, tallying 39 points to 47 in a tightly contested race filled with nationally-ranked talent.

In the team's first 5K race of the season, Madi Szymanski broke the program record that stood for more than 25 years. She led the charge with a third-place finish in 17:18.7, eclipsing Caitlin Compton's time of 17:25.00 in 1999. The finish marked her fourth straight top-10 performance after returning from injury last year. She also shattered her previous 5K personal best by more than a minute.

Not far behind, Ashley Choponis continued her breakout campaign, finishing fourth in 17:26.3. The freshman standout from Sidney, Michigan, was also the top underclassman among 164 runners.

Emma Sweeney rounded out NMU's trio of top-10 finishers, clocking 17:40.3 for ninth place, a two-minute improvement from her previous 5K PR in 2023.

The Wildcats' depth was on full display, with Beverly Harper (13th, 17:50.3) and Sophia Potter (15th, 17:52.6) rounding out the scoring group. NMU was the only team in the field to place five runners under the 18-minute mark, sealing the victory in impressive fashion.

The Green and Gold kept their momentum rolling with several more strong performances:
- Lamar Gordon - 22nd (18:03.9)
- Dani VanLente - 24th (18:07.6)
- Madalyn Agren - 27th (18:17.8)

Also competing for NMU were Lola Korpi (18:35.5), Ella DeBruyn (18:42.4), Maija Maki-Warne (18:42.7), Celia Wallace (18:48.6), and Anya VanSweden (19:15.0).

Sierra Bower (Unattached) won the individual title in 16:40.0, while Madison Clay (Catawba) finished runner-up at 17:15.8.

Friday's full results can be found here. 


Up Next
NMU's final regular season race will be the Husky Invitational hosted by Michigan Tech on Friday, October 17, at 4:15 p.m.