GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Northern Michigan cross-country team opened its season at the Phoenix Open, placing second among seven teams with several notable finishes on the leaderboard.

Northern's performance was highlighted by a trio running to top-6 finishes. Junior Ella DeBruyn crossed first for the Green and Gold at 22:46.9, placing fourth. She smashed her previous personal best (23:29.6) by more than 40 seconds. 

Ashley Choponis slotted in right behind DeBruyn in fifth with a time of 22:49.9. Lamar Gordon followed in sixth, crossing at a time of 22:51.7. 

Lola Korpi finished her race at 23:13.0, good for 12th place. 

Dani VanLente (23:52.6) and Anya VanSweden (23:53.2) made it six 'Cats inside the top-30, finishing in 26th and 27th. 

In her first career race, freshman Addison Jones was the last scoring Wildcat. She crossed at 23:54.6 for 31st place. Right behind her was fellow freshman Sophia Nunnery (23:55.4). Macy Guikema (24:13.2) and Audrey Hamilton (24:26.2) also recorded top-50 finishes. 

The Wildcats totaled 50 points, finishing comfortably in second place. St. Thomas won the meet with 28 points, while UW-Stevens Point was third with 121 points. Olivia Pauley of St. Thomas won the meet with a time of 22:18.3.

Full results can be found here. 


Up Next
The Wildcats will head to the University of Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invite on Friday, September 18.