KENOSHA, Wis. – The No. 12 Northern Michigan Cross Country team finished its excellent season on Saturday, placing 24th out of 34 teams at the NCAA Division II National Championships. 

In a tightly contested race with over 250 of the best runners in the country, All-Region honoree Madi Szymanski led the way again as she finished in 70th with a time of 21:29.9. Holding 77th at the final 4.8K mark, she moved up seven spots to claim the top finish for the Wildcats. 

Behind Szymanski was a pack of Wildcats led by Lamar Gordon in 136th, who finished with a time of 22:12.2. Gordon moved up at each marker, making her biggest jump from 155th to 136th on the home stretch. 

Ashley Choponis finished in 145th (22:19.2), Beverly Harper finished in 162nd (22:26.2), Emma Sweeney ended in 168th (22:28.8), Dani VanLente finished in 183rd (22:36.4) and Sophia Potter crossed the finish line in 187th with a time of 22:44.4. Each member of the team saved their best for last as they all moved up or stayed even in the final kilometer. 

As a team, the Wildcats finished in 24th with 586 team points. Grand Valley State won the team National Championship title with 65 team points. Just behind Grand Valley was Colorado School of Mines, which finished with 69 team points in a closely contested finish. Rounding out the top five were Wingate (131), which had their best-ever finish, along with Adams State (168) in fourth, and Western Colorado (206) in fifth. 

Tristan Spence of Adams State was the individual champion, finishing with a time of 20:11.0. 

Full results from Saturday's race can be found here.