Michigan
Michigan Open
Maize and Blue to Open 2026 Season at Michigan Open
9/2/2026 11:06:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
DEXTER, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's cross country team will open the 2026 season at the Michigan Open on Friday (Sept. 4) at Hudson Mills Metropark. The event will begin at 5 p.m. A Metropark vehicle pass is required, with daily passes available for $10 per vehicle.
Notes
• Michigan was ranked sixth in the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Preseason Rankings.
• The Wolverines placed ninth at the 2025 Big Ten Championships and seventh at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
• Graduate student Penelopea Gordon returns for her fifth collegiate season and fourth with the Wolverines. Gordon has paced the Maize and Blue at each of the last two NCAA Great Lakes Regionals and earned All-Region honors in 2024.
• Caroline Beiting, Sophie Cloutier, Alyna Lewis, Hannah Pricco, Katelyn Watkins and Jadyn Zdanavage return to the Wolverines' lineup. Watkins led Michigan at the 2025 Nuttycombe Invitational B Race with a 10th-place finish and posted a personal-best 21:09.5 at the 2025 Big Ten Championships.
• Graduate student Lisa Luecke is set to compete in her first cross country event since her sophomore season. She posted her career-best five-kilometer time of 18:07.7 at the 2024 Michigan Open.
• Sophomores Elena Figueroa and Emmry Ross are set to make their collegiate cross country debuts. Both competed in track and field events but did not post results in cross country.
• Five Wolverines are set to make their Michigan debuts. Freshmen Mikita Barry, Hannah Gates, Maya Markowska and Lily Symon will compete in their first collegiate event, while sophomore Lillian Deskins will make her U-M debut after spending last season at Miami (Fla.).
