Great Lakes Wire

Northern Michigan University sophomore Madi Szymanski represented her team at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Joplin, Missouri. Competing on November 18, she completed the race with a time of 21:06.2, securing 65th place among over 260 participants.

Throughout the race, Szymanski showed steady improvement. Starting in 91st place at the first kilometer, she advanced to 77th by the one-mile mark with a time of 5:29.1. At the halfway point (3K), she held 76th position with a time of 10:28.9 and moved up to 74th at the four-kilometer mark, clocking in at 14:03.3. By five kilometers, just before finishing, she was in 73rd place with a time of 17:43.3.

Szymanski's season was noteworthy as she received All-GLIAC honors after placing eighth at the conference event and earned All-Region recognition by finishing twelfth in the Midwest regionals. She improved her personal record for the six-kilometer distance three times during the season, achieving her best time of 20:55.83 at regionals.

"Madi had an incredible season," said head coach Jenny Ryan. "She ran well all year and finished with a top performance at the National Championships. She will return to the team ready to help lead them back to these championships in the years ahead. She is a model student-athlete putting in all the hard work in everything she does. We are all so proud of her!"

Lindsay Cunningham from Winona State claimed the individual national title with a time of 19:30.1. The top four finishers completed their races under twenty minutes, earning All-America honors for those who placed within the top forty positions. Grand Valley State University won their seventh team title in program history, having all their top-five runners finish inside the top thirty.

The Northern Michigan Wildcats aim to build on this year's success and hope to return as a team to future National Championships for the first time since 2017.