Michigan
Penn State National Open
Penn State National Invitational Awaits Wolverine Women
10/12/2021 1:20:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 15 -- at Penn State National Invitational (State College, Pa.), 10:45 a.m.
Live Results
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With what will be two weeks remaining until the Big Ten Championships, the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team will compete at the Penn State National Invitational on Friday (Oct. 15) as it takes one last test run on the course that will host the conference meet.
Two weeks removed from its decisive victory at Louisville, the Wolverines will spike up at 10:45 a.m. for a six-kilometer (3.73-mile) race around the Penn State Blue-White Golf Courses against squads from throughout the Great Lakes, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Among the teams Michigan will face are host Penn State -- which is receiving votes in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coaches' Poll -- and conference foes Northwestern, Maryland and Rutgers.
The Wolverines will look to produce a similarly dominant performance to its 39-75 victory over Wisconsin at Louisville with a lineup that will look much the same. Friday's 12-woman-maximum roster could include Kayla Windemuller, track All-American Katelynne Hart, multiple-time All-American Ericka VanderLende, former Big Ten Freshman of the Year Anne Forsyth, track All-American Alice Hill, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year Samantha Tran, Julia Vanitvelt, Samantha Saenz, track All-American Aurora Rynda, track All-American Lucy Petee and Gabby Swider.
The competition will be the last major race for the Wolverines before they return to Penn State for the conference meet in two weekends' time.
Fans can follow the race as it happens via live results from Primetime Timing. Updates also will be posted to the official social media channels of the program.
Things to Know
• Led by longtime women's head cross country coach Mike McGuire, the U-M women will enter the weekend ranked No. 1 in the deep Great Lakes Regional rankings and No. 8 in the National Coaches' Poll announced earlier this week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
• The Wolverines have claimed seven of the last nine regional titles and are in the midst of the third-longest active NCAA Championships qualifying streak in the nation at 19 years running.
• This marks the 19th consecutive year Michigan has earned a top-30 national rank to start the season. Of those 19 years, Michigan has gone on to outperform their preseason rank at the NCAA Championships 10 times.
• This will mark Michigan's first appearance at the Penn State National Invitational. However, it will mark Michigan's second of three trips to Penn State this year. The Wolverines finished third in a tight race against Georgetown and Minnesota last month at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational, and will return at the end of October for the Big Ten Championships.
• Most recently, Michigan is coming off a decisive team victory over conference foe Wisconsin, 39-75, at Louisville. The Wolverines had four runners in the top 10 in runner-up Kayla Windemuller, fourth-place Katelynne Hart, fifth-place Ericka VanderLende and 10th-place Anne Forsyth. No other team had more than one top-10 finisher.
• Michigan has found a strong 1-2-3 punch so far this season between VanderLende, Windemuller and Hart. That trio has traded the role of No. 1 runner throughout the year so far; Hart was the overall winner at the season-opening Michigan open with VanderLende and Windemuller right behind. VanderLende was Michigan's top runner at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe, followed by Windemuller and Hart, and Windemuller led the way for the Wolverines at Louisville, followed by Hart and VanderLende.
• The Wolverines have plenty of proven talent behind them, including reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Samantha Tran, a resurgent Anne Forsyth who is competing at a high level for the first time since her revelation of a debut campaign in 2018, and NCAA Championships steeplechase qualifier Alice Hill.
• Michigan is looking for a breakthrough campaign from Samantha Saenz, who was poised for a big season in 2020 before the pandemic pushed cross country to the spring. She was Michigan's No. 5 runner at Penn State in 19th place.
Up Next
Friday, Oct. 22 -- at EMU Fall Classic (Dexter, Mich.), 5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
