Szymanski took her more than three-mile-long event in 18 minutes, 9.00 seconds, nine seconds ahead of the runner-up, while teammate Skylar Grubb also reached the podium, finishing third in 18:36.00.

NMU’s Meghan Langworthy, Talon Prusi and Emma Moore finished ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively, in the same event.

The meet featured more than a dozen schools, including Division I Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Oakland, along with other GLIAC schools including SVSU, Davenport, Lake Superior State and Wayne State, along with former league member Northwood.

Also attending were club teams from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Madi Szymanski

Another high finish for the Wildcats came with Crystal Walker in the indoor pentathlon, where she finished second and reached an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark with 3,320 points.

She won the pentathlon’s 60 hurdles in 8.92 seconds and long jump with a leap of 5.14 meters (16-feet-10 3/8) and was second in the high jump, fourth in the shot put and ninth in the 800.

NMU’s Teiolla Harvey was sixth in the pentathlon, coming in second in the high jump and shot put, third in the 60 and fifth in the long jump; while Northern’s McKenzie Gruner was 11th, taking second in the high jump and 800.

In the pole vault, Leah Root finished second by clearing 3.50 meters (11-5 3/4), Rebecca Lane came in third after she made it over at 3.20 meters (10-6), and Emily Czeiszperger was fourth after clearing 3.05 meters (10-0).

Two Wildcats had fourth-place finishes — Jahtivya Williams in the 60 dash, clocking 8.04 seconds after she ran it in 7.97 seconds in qualifying, and Leah Root in the triple jump, leaping 10.37 meters (34-0 1/4).

Crystal Walker

The team of McKenzie Gruner, Beverly Harper, Ciara Ostrenga and Roman Menhart was fifth for NMU in the 4-by-400 relay in 4:12.00.

Other top-10 finishes were turned in by Northern’s Sydney Romps in the 60 hurdles, seventh place in 9.54 seconds after she qualified in 9.57; Szymanski in the 3,000, seventh in 10:06.25; and the relay team of Elliott Smith, Menhart, Paige Anderson and Emma Sweeney, seventh in the distance medley in 13:33.36.

The Wildcats get right back into action this weekend, but don’t have to leave Marquette to do it as the Superior Dome will host, along with Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State, the W-C-W Tri-Meet on Saturday. A starting time has yet to be announced.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

Leah Root