The Northern Michigan University track and field team brought the heat to Wisconsin this past Saturday, grabbing a fourth-place finish at the Ashton May Invitational and turning plenty of heads along the way. Senior Ellyse Wolfrath led the charge, breaking a school record and clocking an NCAA provisional time in the 100m hurdles—just the cherry on top of a strong day for the Wildcats.
Wolfrath’s blazing 13.82-second prelim time didn’t just top NMU history books, it’s currently tied for the sixth-fastest time in the nation. She backed up that electric showcase of form with a 14.06 in the finals to take home the gold, while teammate Crystal Walker claimed third at 14.39. Not bad for a day at the track! Head Coach Jenny Ryan said Wolfrath’s statement of speed created an atmosphere of awe on the track.
“She just shot out of the blocks and it was amazing. I was around some of the other teams and everybody was like, ‘Woah!’ Y’know, they were just amazed at how quick she was. She just had an awesome race.”
Northern earned 96 team points, just half a point behind UW-Eau Claire’s 96.5, landing them a solid podium finish. UW-La Crosse took the overall win with 120 points, and Milwaukee finished second with 100.
More wins rolled in from Skylar Grubb in the 5,000m, as she claimed a personal-best 17:41.84, as well as Beverly Harper, who dominated the 800m with a time of 2:19.67. Sophia Potter also snagged third in the 5,000m, while Lana Mac and Ella DeBruyn placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 800m.
In relay action, the 4x100m squad—consisting of Wolfrath, Ciara Ostrenga, Ahna Larson, and Kanya Campbell—raced to a runner-up finish in 48.92. Larson wasn’t finished there, stacking on a silver medal in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:02.56. The distance squad showed their grit in the 3,000m steeplechase, with Dani Van Lente (fourth), Emma Sweeney (sixth), and Anya VanSweden (seventh) finishing within five seconds of one another. Ostrenga also notched a seventh-place
finish in the 400m at 59.43.
In field events, Walker added a second-place finish in the long jump at 5.81 meters. Wilme Els took fifth in the javelin (36.94m), while Sofi Diop earned sixth in the triple jump (11.02m). Katilin Smith (pole vault, 3.66m) and Teiolla Harvey (shot put, 12.03m) rounded out a strong showing with sixth-place finishes.
Next up? The Wildcats head back to Wisconsin for the Titan Invitational, hosted by UW-Oshkosh, running April 10–12. With momentum on their side, NMU is ready to chase even more records, spearheaded by the speedy Ellyse Wolfrath.
