MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan cross country team will be traveling from Marquette to Grand Rapids to compete in the GLIAC Cross Country Championship on Saturday, October 25.

The team is coming off an incredible first place finish at the Royals Challenge in Charlotte, North Carolina, two weeks ago, and some strong individual performances at the Husky Invitational in Houghton last week. Now, the Northern Michigan cross country team is ready to begin its postseason as the team prepares to race in the GLIAC Championship. The race is hosted by Davenport at the Calvin University Cross Country Course and will begin at 11 a.m. ET. 

Northern is ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Poll, coming in at No. 15th, which ties their highest ranking this season. This week, the Wildcats moved up a spot to become the 4th-ranked team in the Midwest Region.


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Follow @NMU_Track_Field and @NMU_Wildcats on X for updates leading up to and during the race.

Saturday, October 25th - at the GLIAC Cross Country Championship at 11 a.m. ET
Watch | Live Results


A Word From Jenny Ryan 
"From what I've heard, the course runs similarly to Parkside, which is where we've run already, and then where our regionals and nationals will be. Right now, we're sitting in number two behind Grand Valley in the GLIAC. So really the goal will be to see if we can get up closer to Grand Valley and then also make sure we're ahead of those other teams."



Season Recap
The Wildcats opened their season at the Phoenix Open hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, finishing second overall.

NMU placed two runners in the top 10, led by senior Madi Szymanski, who took fifth with a time of 22:14.8. In her collegiate debut, freshman Ashley Choponis followed closely in seventh at 22:31.8. Lamar Gordon (11th, 22:39.5) and Sophia Potter (12th, 22:45.0) rounded out a strong showing for the Green and Gold.

Two weeks later, Northern Michigan placed third out of 24 teams at the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minnesota, featuring seven top-30 finishes in a field of more than 250 runners.

Once again, Szymanski led the way with a fifth-place finish in 23:15.8, followed by Choponis in eighth at 23:27.7. Gordon (14th, 23:39.0), Emma Sweeney (23rd, 24:07.8), and Dani Van Lente (24th, 24:13.3) also finished in the top 25 to secure the team's podium result.

The following week, NMU continued its impressive start, placing fourth out of 23 teams at the Lucian Rosa Invitational in Wisconsin.

Szymanski once again paced the Wildcats with a ninth-place time of 21:37.1, while Choponis set a personal best of 21:51.92 for 18th. Gordon (41st, 22:28.88), Potter (44th, 22:32.57), and Sweeney (60th, 22:46.43) also ran career-best times. Van Lente (73rd, 22:57.11) and Beverly Harper (84th, 23:08.30) rounded out the scoring, with Madalyn Agren placing 87th (23:12.8).

Two weeks later, in their final full-team race of the regular season, the then-No. 16 Wildcats delivered a statement victory at the Royals Challenge, hosted by Queens University of Charlotte.

In their only 5K race of the season, Szymanski broke a 25-year-old program record, finishing third in 17:18.7 and surpassing Caitlin Compton's 1999 mark of 17:25.00. It was her fourth straight top-10 finish since returning from injury, and she bested her personal record by more than a minute.

Choponis continued her standout freshman season, placing fourth in 17:26.3 as the top underclassman among 164 competitors. Sweeney joined them in the top 10, taking ninth in 17:40.3, a two-minute improvement over her previous best.

NMU's depth sealed the team title, as Harper (13th, 17:50.3) and Potter (15th, 17:52.6) completed the scoring. The Wildcats were the only team in the field to place five runners under 18 minutes.

The following weekend, nine Wildcats competed individually at the Husky Invitational, earning several top finishes. Paige Anderson led the group in third at 25:15.2, followed by Anya VanSweden (25:38.7), Lana Mac (25:39.1), and Abby Harma (25:43.8) in fourth through seventh. Monet Argeropoulos added a 10th-place finish in 26:20.9, giving NMU five runners in the top 10.


Team Highlights

• The Wildcats recorded their best finish at the Roy Griak Invitational since 2016, matching that year's third-place result.
• Senior Madi Szymanski earned GLIAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks.
• Northern Michigan appeared in the USTFCCCA National Poll for the first time since 2019, ranking 15th nationally, the same position they held that year.
• The Wildcats climbed as high as fourth in the Midwest Region in the USTFCCCA regional rankings.
• In the team's first 5K race of the season, Szymanski broke a 25-year-old program record, placing third at the Royals Challenge in 17:18.7 and surpassing Caitlin Compton's 1999 mark of 17:25.00.
• The team's victory at the Royals Challenge marked its first invitational win since the Bay College Invitational in 2024.
• This season was the first since 2021 that the Wildcats finished in the top 10 at every meet they competed in.

Season Results 
Phoenix Open - 2nd Place (9/6)
Roy Griak Invitational - 3rd Place (9/19)
Lucian Rosa Invite - 4th Place (9/27)
Royals Challenge - 1st Place (10/10)
Husky Invitational - No Team Score (10/17)


Last Year at the GLIAC Cross Country Championship 
Last season, the Wildcats took 7th place of 11 conference teams with 143 points. Dani VanLente collected a 31st-place finish in a time of 22:53.8. Lamar Gordon also earned a top-40 finish, crossing in 38th in a time of 23:02.1. Celia Wallace placed 45th at a time of 23:20.9 and Beverly Harper was 52nd with a 23:31.3 finishing time. Brooke Lemos (23:45.8), Sophia Potter (23:46.3), and Anya VanSweden (24:06.6) also managed top-70 finishes.