Northwood Cross Country Gears Up For Their 2023 Schedule

MIDLAND, Mich. - With the 2023 fall academic year nearing, Northwood's men's and women's cross country teams are beginning to return to the course for the fall campaign. Their 2023 schedule includes trips to Lewis, Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), and a home meet in Midland. 

Head Coach Jeremy Wilk believes his men's team has shown the "ability to step up" and "we've got several returners that we'll be counting on to take that next step forward." Returners Brandon Boyd, Preston Earl, Josh Jones, Todd Henley, Carson Laney, Lucas Oberle, Ty Pichan, Joseph Shaya, Sam Smith, and Jackson Turnbow all come back from being the first team in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships a year ago. 

Northwood men's cross country placed 25th (583 points) at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships behind key performers Earl, Laney, Smith, Boyd, and Jones. Three of the five returners set their personal best during the race. 

The women's team looks to take the next step, climbing the conference ladder. Returners Molly Dickinson, Alyssa Dorn, Riley Hacker, Katherine Haupt, Taylor Hopkins, Rachael Sierakowski, Hattie Veenkant and Sarah Zehr all return and have the ability to make an impact. Wilk wants to see some athletes take that next step. Wilk said, "We would like to have a few of our women push for all-conference honors."

Northwood Cross Country opens the season in Midland on September 9 with the Northwood Invitational. The women's collegiate 5K will open the meet at 10 a.m. followed by the J.C. Electric men's collegiate 6K at 10:45 a.m.