Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan cross country team achieved a fourth-place finish out of 23 teams at the Lucian Rosa Invite in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Wildcats competed against several nationally ranked programs, finishing behind Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, and UC-Colorado Springs—all recognized as top-eight teams nationally.

Northern Michigan is currently receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA National Poll and placed ahead of other 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 among 207 runners, completing the race in 21:37.1. Freshman Ashley Choponis finished 18th with a personal-best time of 21:51.92. Other career-best performances came from Lamar Gordon (22:28.88, 41st place) and Sophia Potter (22:32.57, 44th place). Emma Sweeney set a personal record at 22:46.43 for 60th place.

Dani Van Lente and Beverly Harper also contributed to the team's score by placing 73rd and 84th respectively. Madalyn Agren secured an 87th-place finish.

Additional representation in the championship race included Ella DeBruyn and Celia Wallace. In the open race division, Maija Maki-Warne finished second while Anya VanSweden took fifth.

This marks Northern Michigan's third consecutive top-four placement this season against nationally ranked competition. The team is currently ranked sixth in the Midwest region and continues to receive national poll recognition but has not been inside the nation's top thirty since October 2019.

The Wildcats will have a break next weekend before competing at the Royals Challenge in North Carolina on October 10.