MARQUETTE – The Northern Michigan cross country team plans on making a trip to Florida this November.

Ever since the Wildcats finished in ninth place at the 2015 NCAA National Championship, the Nov. 19 date of the 2016 national championship meet has been circled on the Wildcats’ calendar.

With only one key runner lost to graduation, head coach Jenny Ryan believes that her team will have as memorable of a season in 2016 as it did a year ago.

“Last year, it was exciting to reach our goal of qualifying for the NCAA Championship,” Ryan said. “The team now has the goal of returning to the NCAAs and placing even higher than last year. With the experience and confidence we gained at some top competitions last year, I believe we will have even more success this year.”

The Wildcats, who open their season at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie at the Chris Yanni Memorial Invitational on Saturday, enter the 2016 campaign ranked No. 3 in the Midwest and No. 8 in the nation by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

A year ago, the Wildcats made the nation’s top 25 in all eight USTFCCCA polls; they cracked the top 10 six times.

Northern earned that respect thanks to an historic season. The Wildcats opened 2015 by winning their first two meets, the Upper Peninsula Championships and the Chris Yanni Memorial Invitational. Then they placed second at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational, bolstered by five runners who were among the first 30 to cross the line in a field of more than 350.

Their performance at the Griak Invite was a sign of great things to come; they went on to finish third at the GLIAC Championship and earn their first NCAA Championship appearance since 2005 by placing fourth at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

Northern Michigan remains highly ranked because it returns four of its five 2015 all-GLIAC honorees in Kameron Burmeister, Sophie McDonald, Vivian Hett and Caroline Brisbois. Burmeister, from Menominee, and McDonald also earned spots on the USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region team after placing 14th (21 minutes, 28.8 seconds) and 20th (21:38.5), respectively, at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

“We have a solid top group returning that has trained well this past year and are ready to go,” Ryan said. “We also have a group of returners that have made another step up over the summer and will add strength and depth to the team. I also see our new freshmen stepping in and taking part in the success of the team right away.”

Listed as top newcomers are Alexis Smith and Katelyn Smith. The team also includes junior Clara Churchill, a Negaunee High School graduate, and sophomore Shayla Huebner of Marquette.

As she did in 2015, Ryan put together a challenging schedule to prepare the Wildcats for championship season. Highlights include the Griak Invite on Sept. 24 and NMU’s lone home meet, the U.P. Championships on Oct. 14.

“We start the season with a smaller meet at LSSU, but then head right into competing against some of the top teams in the conference, region and country at the Spartan Invite, Roy Griak and the Conference Crossover,” Ryan said. “These invitationals will get our runners prepared and build their confidence to compete before we head into the championship season.”

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