Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) track and field team is set to commence its indoor season with participation in the UW-Oshkosh Early Bird Invitational in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The event will span two days, beginning with the pentathlon on Friday, December 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Natasha Nowakowski, Eva Zonca, and Alayna Vandegriff will compete in this event. The pentathlon will continue on Saturday morning, followed by field events starting at 1 p.m. ET and track events at 2 p.m. ET.

For those interested in updates leading up to and during the competition, they can follow @NMU_Track_Field and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Head Coach Jenny Ryan shared her thoughts on the upcoming competition: "This group will get a chance to see where we are at, and then make adjustments after break and get ready for the rest of the Indoor season."

Reflecting on last season's achievements, NMU secured third place at the Indoor GLIAC Championships for the 2023-24 season, matching their program's best finish with eight podium placements. Ellyse Wolfrath earned recognition as a Second Team All-American following her performance in the NCAA Championships, where she finished 12th out of 16 in the 60m hurdles.

Jenny Ryan has been guiding both the track and field and cross-country teams since 2007-08. Under her leadership, NMU athletes have qualified for NCAA National Championships nine times. Both Ellyse Wolfrath and Crystal Walker have competed at national levels in indoor and outdoor championships respectively.

Additionally, NMU has achieved academic excellence under Ryan's guidance. The team has consistently been recognized as an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association each year during Ryan’s tenure. This distinction requires a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or higher along with posting a team score at their respective NCAA regional championship.