Northern Michigan University’s Cross Country team placed first against four other competing teams at the Bay College Invitational on Sept. 30 in Escanaba, Michigan, and took five of the top six individual spots. With the GLIAC Championships on the rise, they’re not about to back down.

After a two-week absence, senior Kameron Burmeister was more than ready to lace up her shoes again, topping the race with a time of 18:22. Junior Kalina Pfannenstiel claimed the third spot with a time of 20:16. Rounding out the top-five spots were freshman Ellise Longley and sophomore Victoria Harris, finishing fourth and fifth with times of 20:21 and 20:31. NMU’s final point scorer, junior Hannah Lonergan, placed sixth with a time of 21:05.

“We’ve had a solid season thus far regardless of the many athletes who were not able to compete due to illnesses,” said coach Jenny Ryan. “The team has not completed one race at full strength but they’ve never been a stronger group.”

She explained that this year’s performance is much stronger because more have stepped up from last year.

“There’s such a positive atmosphere with the team. They all work together. Every athlete on the team is part of the success, and this really shows our depth as a team,” added Ryan.

The unity of the team was not only apparent to Ryan but is also visible to athletes.

“Everyone feels they are an important part of the team,” said junior Hannah Lonergan. “I hope we can keep it on a steady roll and be the strong team we are.”

The coach and team are preparing to compete against 12 other teams for the GLIAC Championships coming up on October 21, and NMU will be hosting the event for the first time since 2005. Though the team has showed great strength so far this season, they will have some competition with Grand Valley State University, who ranks as the No. 1 team in the nation.

“They’re going to be tough to beat, but I believe we have a solid chance for sure to get second place,” Ryan predicted.

Ryan said the team will be focusing more on “individual success” at the Lewis University Conference Crossover in Romeoville, Illinois, Oct. 7.

“This will be more of a pre-championship race, so we’ll be backing off this weekend and making adjustments as we go,” said Ryan. Of the 37 teams representing 15 different states that will compete Saturday, six make up the top 10 of the entire
nation. With a lot of competition to choose from, NMU runners will have one last test run before the GLIAC
Championships.