Northwestern cross country is gearing up for its first race of the season on Friday, and the team has plenty to be confident about. NU is fresh off one of its most successful seasons in program history. The ‘Cats finished 18th at the 2025 NCAA Championships, which marked the program’s best finish of the modern era. As the Wildcats strive to continue building on last year’s record-breaking campaign, NU enters this season ranked No. 11 in the Preseason National Coaches’ Poll, joining three other Big
Ten schools in the national rankings.
Here’s a comprehensive preview of everything to know about the Wildcats’ runners in 2026.
Roster Preview
Returners: Maddy Whitman (Gr.), Skye Ellis (Gr.), Erin Boler (Sr.), Ava Criniti (Sr.), Anna Delgado (Sr.), Jackie Holman (Sr.), Maddy Powers (Sr.), Lydia Sommer (Sr.), Kailey Zagst (Sr.), Cary Drake (Jr.), Katherine Klimek (Jr.), Olivia Capala (So.), Allegra Massey (So.), Marley McCullough (So.), Jaya Simmons (So.), Bentley Thomas (So.)
Losses: Ava Earl, Serena Frolli, Mallory Grubb, Anna Hightower, Mia Mraz, Holly Smith, Samree Dishon, Delilah Helenhouse
Additions: Sophie Magson (Gr.), Katie Clute (Sr.), Eliza Nicholson (So.), Kyla Babb (Fr.), Sofia Balistreri (Fr.), Zoe Carroll (Fr.), Ella Goodsell (Fr.), Natalia Guaresimo (Fr.), Elyse Henricksen (Fr.), Isabelle Mahoney (Fr.), Emma Patrick (Fr.), Lauren Virmani (Fr.), Marella Virmani (Fr.), Isabelle Yttre (Fr.)
Reigning USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year Jill Miller enters the season with a roster that blends proven returners with a wave of promising newcomers.
NU returns Skye Ellis and Jackie Holman, the USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region honorees and two centerpieces of NU’s core from last season.
Ellis was Northwestern’s strongest runner down the stretch, as she led the team at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a 6k personal-best 19:50.9. Ellis broke school records in both indoor and outdoor track last season. She broke her own program record at the 800m Meyo Invitational with a 2:07.23, and set another in the 1,500m run at the Badger Challenge, clocking in at 4:14.55.
Holman moved into Northwestern’s all-time top five in both the 5,000m (16:00.60, fourth in program history) and the 1,500m (4:24.77, fifth all-time). The former 5,000m race came in a third-place finish at the Meyo Invitational, while the latter 1,500m race came in a fourth-place finish at the Chicagoland Championships.
Another star runner for the ‘Cats is Ava Criniti. She earned a Second Team All-Big Ten selection following a fantastic 2025 season in which she shattered the 10,000m run program record in her event debut at the Raleigh Relays with a time of 33:19.10. She also ran a 15:54.42 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, which placed her second on the 5,000m run record board.
Kailey Zagst and Maddy Whitman are two other Wildcats to keep an eye on. Zagst posted a personal- and team-best 21:36.5 in the 6k at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational. Whitman, meanwhile, had the highest returning finish in the NCAA Championships aside from Ellis and Holman, clocking a 20:08.5.
While the ‘Cats return several excellent runners, they also must grapple with the departure of two marquee runners — Ava Earl and Anna Hightower. Both were pivotal parts of NU’s roster last season and leave behind storied careers with NU. Replacing them will lean not just on the returners, but also on the newcomers.
The ‘Cats welcome 14 new athletes to their roster this season, compared to just seven new additions last season. Sophie Magson is a graduate student who hails from England and previously attended Radford. Senior Katie Clute joins NU after a standout high school career in which she earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors after winning a Division I individual state championship in 17:25.1. Clute then spent the past three seasons at Oregon, where she set the facility record in the 3,000m at Kansas State with a time of 9:26.29 in track.
NU also welcomes British runner Eliza Nicholson, who scored in all five cross country meets she competed in during her freshman season at Louisville, highlighted by a season-best 20:26.8 6k and a 48th-place finish at the ACC Championships. She also set a Louisville freshman record in the 5,000m outdoors with a time of 15:50.95 and qualified for the NCAA East First Round.
NU also brings in 11 new freshmen that should help boost the roster’s depth and indicate a promising future.
Schedule Preview
The ‘Cats begin their season on Friday, Sept. 4 in Madison, Wisconsin, for the Badger Classic. They will then head to Indiana for the John McNichols Invitational on Sept. 19, where they will gain a preview of the host site for the 2026 NCAA Championships in November. The ‘Cats will return home on Sept. 25 for the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, before heading back to Madison two weeks later for the conclusion of the regular season at the Nuttycombe Invitational.
The Big Ten Championships will also be held in Madison on Oct. 30, hosted by the University of Wisconsin. Following that, the NCAA Midwest Regional will be on Nov. 13 in Ames, Iowa, while the NCAA Championships take place at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Nov. 21.
