MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan track and field team is set to begin its indoor season this weekend, traveling to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the two-day UW-Oshkosh Early Bird Invitational.

The pentathlon will open the meet on Friday, December 6, with the first events beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. The remainder of the meet will take place on Saturday, with field events beginning at 2 p.m. ET and track events getting going at 3 p.m. ET. 

The Wildcats, who finished fourth at last year's indoor championships and a program-best second in the outdoor campaign, have high hopes as the new season approaches. Under 12th-year head coach Jenny Ryan, Northern fields a roster of 51 that consists of two fifth-year seniors, 10 seniors, 11 juniors, 16 sophomores, and 12 freshmen. 


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

Friday, December 6 - Pentathlon at UW Oshkosh Early Bird Invitational at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Saturday, December 7 - at UW Oshkosh Early Bird Invitational starting at 2 p.m. ET.


Last Season
The Green and Gold finished 2024-25 in fourth place at the Indoor GLIAC Championships. NMU concluded the Indoor GLIAC Championships with an impressive ten podium finishes. 

Ellyse Wolfrath was named All-Region after finishing 13th of 18 in the 60m hurdles at last year's National Championships. She set a school record time of 8.46 and was a GLIAC Champion in what was an incredible year across the board for her. 

Crystal Walker and Alyaka Vandegriff each found the podium at last year's conference championship and return to headline a strong roster. 


Head Coach Jenny Ryan
Also leading the cross country team since 2007-08, Jenny Ryan enters her 12th season as head coach of the track and field program. Ryan has seen student-athletes qualify for the NCAA National Championships eleven times. This past season, NMU had two individuals compete nationally. Ellyse Wolfrath competed in the indoor 60m hurdles, and Crystal Walker competed in the outdoor 100m. 

NMU has seen incredible academic success under Ryan's leadership, as the team has been named an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association every year that Ryan has been at the helm. 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.

With that, the Wildcats are coming off arguably one of their best seasons under Ryan. Finishing second at the outdoor GLIAC championships, Ryan and her staff received the GLIAC Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year award. 

Behind Ryan, Michael Dellemann enters his first season as the Associate Head Coach. Guiding the jumps, hurdles, and the multi, he has coached 17 All-GLIAC finishes in his events since 2023. Additionally, in 2024, Ellyse Wolfrath was named a Second Team All-American in the 60-meter hurdles under Dellemann's leadership. Throughout his NMU tenure, the Wildcats have had seven NCAA Championship qualifiers in his events.
 
Luke Pease (sprints and throws) and Terri Todd round out the coaching staff.