Last season, Northwestern proved yet again it could run with the best. Stacking up multiple podium appearances and even more expectations, the ‘Cats return this fall with a roster that is set to compete.
Want to find out how this year’s team is shaping up? You’re in the right place.
Race you to the preview!
The Runners
Returners: Erin Boler (R-So.), Ava Criniti (R-So.), Anna Delgado (R-So.), Cary Drake (R-Fr.), Ava Earl (Gr.), Skye Ellis (R-Jr.), Serena Frolli (Sr.), Mallory Grubb (Sr.), Anna Hightower (Gr.), Jackie
Holman (Jr.), Katherine Kilmek (R- FR.), Mia Mraz (Sr.), Maddy Powers (R-So.), Holly Smith (Gr.), Lydia Sommer (R-So.), Maddy Whitman (Sr.), Kailey Zagst (R-So.)
Losses: Audrey Bannister, Deepti Choudhury, Whitney Currie, Fiona Lenth, Katherine Hessler, Chloe Wellings
Additions: Olivia Capala (Fr.), Samree Dishon (Gr. transfer, Colorado), Delilah Helenhouse (Fr.), Allegra Massey (Fr.). Marley McCullough (Fr.), Jaya Simmons (Fr.), Bentley Thomas (Fr.)
Although pre-season rankings are not out yet, Northwestern returns a majority of its top runners from last year, and there is no doubt the ‘Cats will be a top contender in the 2025-26 season.
Ava Earl returns yet again for her graduate campaign, after already boasting an impressive career with the ’Cats. Out of the top 10 fastest times for the 6k last season, Earl holds four. Her first-place time was 22 seconds faster than the next Wildcat at third place, senior graduate Chloe Wellings. In all four of her races last year, she was the first Wildcat to cross the finish line. In the 2024-25 season she took first in the Bradley Pink Classic 6K with a time of 20:14.4 before notching her own personal best for a 6k in the Big Ten championships with an impressive 19:42.2. As a 3x USTFCCCA Midwest All-Region awardee and 2023 National Championship Individual Qualifier, Earl has high expectations running into her final season in purple.
Skye Ellis is also a force to be reckoned with, as her performance in the spring will undoubtedly tell you. She ascended to the top-10 in program history in the mile (4:44.65) and 3,000m run (9:21.85) during the UW Preview. She then went on to shatter the 800m run program record after a time of 2:10.23 before topping her previous mile time with 4:40.80. Not finished yet, she climbed to fourth all-time for Northwestern in the 5,000m run in the Penn Relays to place 14th overall (16:51.62) before breaking her month-old 1,500m run school record at the Badger Challenge, placing third with a time of 4:19.71.
But that’s not all — a strong group of upperclassmen also return to Northwestern, with Serena Frolli leading the group. She posted a 5k and 6k personal best at the Huskie Opener and Bradley Pink Classic with times of 18:54.2 and 22:04.3, respectively. Mallory Grubb and Mia Mraz also ran their 5k personal bests at the Huskie Opener with a time of 19:47.7 and 19:07.3, respectively.
With all these personal bests piling up among upperclassmen, the podium is well within reach.
However, one of the biggest losses the ‘Cats will have to face this season is Katherine Hessler. After being a USTFCCCA Midwest All-Region and First-Team All-Big Ten runner in 2023, Hessler closed out her 2024-25 season with six meets and an indoor campaign that took her up the Northwestern leaderboard. After multiple personal best’s, Hessler secured the sixth spot on NU’s all-time 3,000m list and climbed to fifth on the all-time 5,000m list.
Replacing the gap all graduates left last year could be a challenge, but not one the ‘Cats are unable to handle. Last year, these gaps were mostly filled by graduate students — this year, it’s mainly freshmen.
Only one graduate transfer, Samree Dishon, joins the purple and white this year. Previously running for Colorado, Dishon finished 25th in the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships and 41st in the Mountain Region Championships. Before her switch to the Buffaloes, Dishon also ran for the University of New Mexico, where she was a Mountain West Conference Champion for the 10,000 meters, an All-American, and earned a plethora of accolades — including four Mountain West All-Conference awards. She also has two NCAA appearances, one for the Lobos and one for the Buffaloes. Although Dishon did not compete in her 2024-2025 season due to an injury, she will hopefully go the distance for the ‘Cats this fall.
Six freshmen also join the ranks this fall, spanning as far as England and as close as the Chicagoan suburbs. With numerous veterans returning, these six will have the opportunity to learn from some of the best, and there is ample time for their talent to develop and grow.
The Settings
This coming Friday, the ‘Cats kick off their season in Stillwater, Oklahoma, ready to wrangle the competition at the Cowboy Preview. Then, after a short two-week break, they get a glimpse of their familiar conference foes on September 12. It is there in East Lansing, MI that Northwestern will fight to defend its title in the Big Ten Preview.
After a long break to recuperate, the ‘Cats will head a couple of miles south on October 3 to enjoy the familiar views at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational. Two weeks later, they head to Madison, WI, for the Nuttycombe Invitational, marking their last meet of the regular season.
Heading back to East Lansing, the Big Ten Championships are set for October 31 before the Midwest Regionals on November 14 and the NCAA Championships on November 22.
