Jenny Ryan Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
Jenny Ryan Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
The Northern Michigan Wildcats women's cross country team is set to compete at the Royals Challenge in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 10. This marks the first time the Wildcats will participate in this event, which is hosted by Queens University of Charlotte and scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Northern Michigan enters the race ranked No. 16 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Poll. The team dropped one spot from their previous ranking of 15th after a week without competition but remains fifth in the Midwest Region.
The Wildcats are coming off a fourth-place finish at the Lucian Rosa Invite in Wisconsin on September 27. They finished behind Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, and UC–Colorado Springs—all top-eight nationally ranked programs—and ahead of several other nationally ranked teams such as CSU Pueblo (15th), Lee (12th), Minnesota State (24th), Cal Poly Pomona (26th), and Parkside (25th).
Senior Madi Szymanski led Northern Michigan with a ninth-place finish out of 207 runners, clocking in at 21:37.1. She has been named GLIAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week for two consecutive weeks following her third top-10 finish this season. Freshman Ashley Choponis secured an 18th place with a personal-best time of 21:51.92.
Additional personal records were set by Lamar Gordon (41st place, 22:28.88), Sophia Potter (44th place, 22:32.57), Emma Sweeney (60th place, 22:46.43), Dani Van Lente (73rd place, 22:57.11), and Beverly Harper (84th place, 23:08.30). Madalyn Agren also placed within the top 100 with a time of 23:12.8 for 87th position.
In an open race held during the same meet, Maija Maki-Warne finished second with a time of 23:53.05 while Anya VanSweden took fifth at 24:03.7.
Head Coach Jenny Ryan commented on the upcoming Royals Challenge: "It'll be a different race: a 5K that's shorter, on a fast course, and a unique opportunity. We'll go against a couple of the top teams in the Southeast region, including Wingate, ranked fifth in the country, and Catawba, ranked 28th."
Fans can follow updates about the team's performance via @NMU_Track_Field and @NMU_Wildcats on X.
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