Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) cross country team is preparing for its first race of the season at the Northwood Invite. The event will take place on Saturday, September 9, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

The Wildcats, with a strong group of underclassmen, aim to compete against top teams from the Midwest. Coach Ryan expressed optimism about the team's prospects: "I see this group similar to my group a few years back that made it to Nationals four years in a row. We have a solid group coming back and we've added some talented newcomers, so it's exciting times ahead."

The NMU team has already held an intrasquad 5K race this fall. Madi Szymanski and freshman Ava Maginity finished first and second respectively in that event. Maginity has been recognized for her high school achievements with All-State, All-Conference, and All-Region honors each year from 2019 to 2023.

Sophomore Madi Szymanski is highlighted as a key returning athlete for NMU after securing a personal-best time of 22:42.1 at last year's GLIAC Championships, earning her All-GLIAC Second Team honors. Other athletes expected to contribute significantly include Gianna Hoving, Talon Prusi, and Skylar Grubb.

In last year's GLIAC Championships, NMU finished sixth out of ten teams. This year’s preseason poll places them fifth behind Grand Valley State, Wayne State, Saginaw Valley State, and Michigan Tech.

Fans can follow updates on the race by following @NMU_Track_Field and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter).