Second place behind Grand Valley State
ALLENDALE, Mich. – It was a historic weekend for the Northern Michigan Track & Field team as they earned the program’s best-ever conference finish by taking second place at this weekend’s GLIAC Championships.
The Wildcats comfortably finished in second with 125.5 points. Grand Valley won with 287 points while Wayne State was 3rd with 108 points. In the 22-year history of the NMU program competing within the GLIAC, it is the first time they’ve ever finished as the runner-up in either the Indoor or Outdoor Championships.
It would be difficult to look through the results and not see something noteworthy from the Green and Gold. Teiolla Harvey (javelin) and Ellyse Wolfrath (100m hurdles) earned a GLIAC title to highlight nine podium finishes. In addition, Harvey (javelin), Crystal Walker (100m hurdles and long jump), and Ahna Larson (400m hurdles) set school records. Lastly, Walker, Wolfrath, Larson, and Skylar Grubb (10000m) all hit NCAA provisional marks.
The success stems from the coaching staff, who was named the 2025 GLIAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Led by head coach Jenny Ryan, the Wildcats scored in 16 of the 21 events. Luke Pease, Michael Dellemann, Sarah Pease, and Leonard Pizziola round out the coaching staff.
On the Track
Wolfrath was crowned GLIAC champion in the 100m hurdles with a winning time of 13.76, tying her personal record ran in the preliminaries. Walker took 4th with a time of 13.96. Walker set the school record in the prelims with a time of 13.68.
Grubb was the lone Wildcat to find the podium twice. First in the longest race in track, the 10000m, she came through for Northern with a 3rd place PR time of 35:52.42. Grubb did not show fatigue and doubled down in the 5000m, hitting another PR of 17:09.36 for another bronze medal. She became just the second Wildcat to ever podium in each of those events, joining NMU Hall of Famer Kameron Burmeister.
In the 400m hurdles, Larson set a school record and lowered her NCAA provisional mark with a PR time of 1:01.04 to take 4th.
The 4×400 relay team of Larson, Lana Mac, Ciara Ostrenga, and Beverly Harper took 4th place with a time of 3:55.69. The 4x100m relay team of Wolfrath, Ostrenga, Larson, and Walker took 5th with a time of 47.58.
With a time of 4:40.59 in the 1500m, Lamar Gordon finished in 6th.
In the 800m, Harper finished in 7th, crossing the finish line at 2:16.06.
Dani Van Lente placed 8th in the 3000m steeplechase final, recording a personal best of 11:19.02.
In the Field
Northern dominated the javelin throw by obtaining two of the three podium spots. Harvey threw a school-record distance of 40.86m to stake her claim as GLIAC champion and earn Northern’s first-ever victory in the event. Wilme Els was also impressive, taking 2nd with a throw of 40.20m. The two are now the only Wildcats to ever eclipse the 40-meter mark in the javelin.
Walker earned a 2nd place podium finish in the long jump backed by another school record and NCAA provisional mark jump of 5.93m, edging her previous top-mark of 5.92m. Sofi Diop hit a PR of 5.72m to take 5th.
Another silver medal came from Kati Smith in the pole vault, eclipsing the bar at 3.64m. She joined Jaime Smith as the only other Wildcat to earn at least second in the outdoor rendition of the pole vault. Rebecca Lane hit a PR of 3.49m for 4th and Alayna Vandegriff was 5th at 3.34m.
Sofi Diop earned the bronze medal in the triple jump, reaching a distance of 11.36m. Vandegriff also claimed points in the event with a 4th-place finish of 10.88m.
Harvey would also earn points in the shot put with a throw of 12.58m for 6th place. Alizabeth Little hit a PR of 39.69m in the discus to finish in 6th.
Heptathlon
The Green and Gold also found success in the heptathlon. Natasha Nowakowski finished in 3rd, highlighted by a win in the shot put, and is just the fourth Wildcat to grab a podium finish in the heptathlon. Eva Zonca also earned points by finishing in 5th.
