From NMU

Sports Information

EAST LANSING — Racing against top-level Division I and Division II competition at the Spartan Invite hosted by Michigan State on Friday morning, the young Northern Michigan cross country team took strides with several notable performances, including top-50 finishes from sophomore Madi Szymanski and freshman Ava Maginity.

Szymanski crossed the finish line in 28th place with a time of 22:23.2, besting her personal best mark by nearly 19 seconds (22:42.1).

Outside of six Grand Valley State runners, Szymanski’s finish marked the best performance within Division II competition.

In her second collegiate race, Ava Maginity also notched a top-50 finish for the Green and Gold, ending her 6K trek in a time of 23:18.0. It was the 13th-best finish among Division II runners.

Elsewhere on the board for the Wildcats, Emma Moore and Dani VanLente finished back-to-back in 75th and 76th, respectively, with times of 23:55.3 and 23:56.1. Lamar Gordon (24:03.1), Emma Sweeney (24:05.1), Talon Prusi (24:07.5), Hillary Way (24:10.9), Skylar Grubb (24:18.8), and Paige Anderson (24:46.3) all finished in the top-100 for the Wildcats as well.

Overall, Katie Osika of Michigan State took the gold medal spot, finishing at 20:54.2. Lauren Kiley of Grand Valley State took second at 21:02.0 and Makenna Veen of Michigan State ran to a third-place finish in a time of 21:04.4.

Up Next

The Wildcats will be back in action next Friday, Sept. 22, as they’ll race at one of the biggest cross country events of the year in the Roy Griak Invite hosted by the University of Minnesota. The 6K race will begin at 1:15 p.m.