MIDLAND, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State cross country team competed at the Northwood Invitational on Saturday morning to begin the 2026 season. Both the men's and women's team finished second in their respective races. The men compiled a final score of 48 to finish just 10 points shy of Davenport in the four-mile race. The women completed the 5K race with a final score of 61 to claim the second spot behind host Northwood.

Seven Cardinal men made their collegiate debut with a top 20 finish in the opening race. Nate Linden was the top finisher for the SVSU men with a time of 20 minutes and 21.4 seconds to finish third overall in his collegiate debut. Cooper Byrne placed ninth with a time of 20:33.8 and Jacob Stanislawski crossed the finish line right behind Byrne at 20:34.9.

Jacob Essenmacher placed 12^th with his debut time of 20:41.6. Owen Fisher, Matthew Penkowski, and Owen Metzger finished 14, 15, and 16 after clocking times of 20:54.5, 21:04.8, and 21:06.8.

Lauren Thomas recorded a personal best time of 19:11.3 to lead the SVSU women in the 5K race. Thomas placed fourth with the finish. She was joined in the top 10 by Anastee Davis, who placed eighth with her finish of 19:27.0.

Olivia Stacy made her debut for SVSU with a 12^th-place time of 19:40.6. Samantha Brown also debuted for the Cardinal women. Brown's time of 19:57.9 was good enough for 16^th overall. Emma Lingongo and Ceci Bayer were the final scoring times. Lingongo placed 26^th with a time of 20:42.6 and Bayer was 33^rd after a finish of 21:11.9.

UP NEXT: The Saginaw Valley State cross country team will travel to Kalamazoo next Friday, September 18, to race in the George Dales Invite at Western Michigan University.