Jenny Ryan was appointed the Northern Michigan head track & field coach before the 2014-15 season. Before she was named head coach, she was an assistant coach who worked primarily with the middle-distance and distance runners.
Ryan also serves as the head coach of the women's cross country team since 2007-08 and spent 11 years as a Nordic skiing assistant coach.To view Coach Ryan's Cross Country bio, click here.Â
Since Ryan took over as head track & field coach, several Wildcats have qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships: Ellyse Wolfrath (2023 Indoor, 2024 indoor), Crystalk Walker (2023 Outdoor, 2024 Outdoor), Shaylay Huebner (2018 Indoors), Kieren Becker (2017 Outdoor), Kameron Burmeister (2017 Indoor & Outdoor, 2018 Indoors & Outdoors), Samanthia Johnson (2015 Outdoor, 2016 Outdoor, 2017 Outdoor), Ine Mylle (2016 Outdoor, 2017 Indoor & Outdoor, 2018 Outdoors), Dana Shove (2017 Outdoor) and Jasmine Williams (2015 Outdoor, 2016 Indoor, 2017 Indoor & Outdoor).
NMUÂ has seen great academic success under Ryan, as they have been named an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association each year she has been the head coach. 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.
The 2024-25 was a stellar one for Ryan and company as the Wildcat staff was honored with the GLIAC Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year. Northern had a historic outdoor campaign, claiming its best-ever GLIAC finish in program history by taking 2nd. Northern had a whopping nine podium finishes with Teiolla Harvey (javelin) and Ellyse Wolfrath (100m hurdles) taking first. The team also set three new school records at the meet. Harvey, Alayna Vandegriff (triple jump) and Crystal Walker (long jump and 100m hurdles) were named All-Region honorees. Walker also advanced to the the NCAA Championships in the 100m hurdles. NMU placed 4th at the Indoor GLIAC Championships earlier in the year. NMU had three podium finishes highlighted by Ellyse Wolfrath winning gold in the 60m hurdles. She advanced to the NCAA Championships and finished in 13th. She earned All-Region honors.
During the 2023-24 indoor season, NMU finished in 3rd in the GLIAC with eight podium finishes. Ellyse Wolfrath advanced to the NCAA Championships in the 60m hurdles where she finished in 12th and was named an All-American. Wolfrath (60m hurdles), Madi Szymanski (3000m), and the DMR team of Gianna Hoving, Ciara Ostrenga, Beverly Harper, and Szymanski earned All-Region recognition. NMU finished in 4th at the Outdoor GLIAC Championships with five podium finishes. Crystal Walker advanced to nationals where she placed 15th in the 100m hurdles. Walker and Wolfrath were both named the the USTFCCCA All-Region Team in the 100m hurdles.Â
In the 2022-23 season, Ryan coached the track and field team to a fourth-place finish at the GLIAC Championships, highlighted by Akirah Venerable breaking a school record and finishing second in the 400m hurdles. Under Ryan, Venerable and Crystal Walker represented the team on the USTFCCCA Midwest All-Region Team. Crystal Walker earned a Wildcat Award for shattering a school record in the long jump (5.92m). The team excelled academically, with five student-athletes named to the 2022-23 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic District Team, and 14 named to the GLIAC All-Academic Team.
In 2021-22, the Wildcats finished fifth at both the Indoor and Outdoor GLIAC Championships. Freshman Crystal Walker (60m hurdles - indoor, 100m hurdles - outdoor) and senior Izabelle Peterson (200m dash - indoor) both hit NCAA qualifying marks in their events. Â
In 2020-21, NMU claimed fourth place at the Outdoor GLIAC Championships and finished fifth at the Indoor Championships.Â
In 2019-20, Northern took fourth at the Indoor GLIAC Championships before COVID-19 caused cancellation to the outdoor season.Â
In 2018, the Wildcats recorded a pair of third-place finishes at the Indoor and Outdoor GLIAC Championships. The indoor finish tied a program best, while the outdoor finish was the best in program history. Her guidance during the outdoor campaign earned Ryan GLIAC Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year honors, the first during her coaching career.Â
In 2017, Northern Michigan placed fifth at both the GLIAC Indoor Championship and GLIAC Outdoor Championship, its best finishes since 2011 and 2012 respectively. Six athletes and one relay team combined to capture nine medals at the two conference championship meets. Six athletes went on to compete at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with three earning All-American awards for their efforts.
In 2016, three Wildcats earned medals at the GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships: Mylle (gold, triple jump), Williams (bronze, discus) and Burmeister (bronze, 10,000-meter run). At the league's indoor championship meet, Michelle Juergen captured a bronze medal in the high jump.
In 2013-14, Ryan coached Christina Toogood to a GLIAC indoor title in the 1,500-meter run and third-place finishes in the 800-meter run at the GLIAC indoor and outdoor championships. Toogood also earned All-American honors during the indoor season.
As an assistant cross country coach, Ryan helped coach the Wildcats to the NCAA Division II Championships six years in a row. There, the team finished eighth, sixth, fourth, seventh and seventh. Over that stretch, Northern Michigan won two GLIAC titles and a NCAA Great Lakes Regional championship and produced 10 All-American runners.
As a Nordic skiing assistant, Ryan helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Ski Championships each year. Under Ryan's watch, 48 Wildcats earned All-American accolades and four captured NCAA titles. Ryan also coached the 2006 U.S. Junior World and U-23 team in Slovenia.
Ryan spent two years as head coach Sten Fjeldheim’s graduate assistant and was named a full-time staff member in August 2002.
Before joining the Wildcat staff, Ryan held numerous coaching positions. From 1997-2000, she held two coaching positions in Bozeman, Mont., with the Bridger Ski Foundations Junior Ski Program and the Masters Cross-Country Skiing Training and Racing Group. Ryan also served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Montana State women’s cross county ski team. She taught math at Chief Joseph Middle School, where she also coached sixth-grade track & field.
A native of Burnsville, Minn., Ryan attended Montana State, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in math education with a minor in physical education and health. Ryan skied for the Bobcats for four years and garnered All-American and Academic All-American honors, placing fourth at the 1988 College Nationals.
Ryan continued her skiing career after college, gaining national recognition in cross country skiing (1992, 1994) and biathlon (1998), competing in nine National Championships and three Olympic Trials. She was a member of the United States Olympic Education Center ski program at Northern Michigan from 1990-93.
Ryan also competed in the 1999 World Master’s Championships in Grindelwald, Switzerland, winning one gold and two silver medals. Ryan later won two gold medals at the 2004 Masters National Championships.
Ryan received her master’s degree in exercise science from Northern Michigan in 2002 and was named Outstanding Graduating Graduate Student. She is a 2010 graduate of the NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy and a level I track & field coach.
