The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 57 BY ANTHONY BROOME M ichigan football may be king in Ann Arbor this time of year, but plenty of other fall sports programs on campus are gunning for Big Ten cham- pionships of their own. Here is a primer on each of those squads heading into the fall season and their respective campaigns: Men's Cross Country First Event: Aug. 29 at the Michigan Open (Dexter, Mich.) Season Outlook: Last season, the men had a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and concluded their season as the sixth-place team out of 31 programs at the NCAA Great Lakes Re- gional. Seniors Luke Venhuizen and Ca- leb Jarema could set the pace for a group looking to keep building toward glory in program director Kevin Sullivan's 12th season at the helm. TOP THREE ATHLETES: Senior Luke Venhuizen — Finished on career-best notes at both the Big Ten Championships and Great Lakes Re- gional last year, running a 23:31.6 time over 8 kilometers (39th place) and a 29:43.9 over 10 kilometers (22nd) in the events, respectively. Senior Caleb Jarema — Like Ven- huizen, Jarema closed out the 2024 cross country season with career-best marks in the final two events of the season. He ran a 23:18.5 over 8 kilometers (27th) at the Big Ten Championships, followed by a 29:59.5 over 10 kilometers at the Great Lakes Regional (34th). Junior Trent McFarland — A sec- ond-team All-American in the indoor distance medley relay and outdoor track 1,500 meters last season, McFarland was also a standout on the cross coun- try front. He set a career-best mark of 23:30.5 over 8 kilometers to finish 38th at the Big Ten Championships. Women's Cross Country First Event: Aug. 29 at the Michigan Open (Dexter, Mich.) Season Outlook: The women fin- ished the 2024 season in ninth place at the Big Ten Championships and matched the men with a sixth-place effort at the Great Lakes Regional out of 32 compet- ing programs. Many of the veteran pieces return from last year's squad as it looks to top last year's finish. TOP THREE ATHLETES: Graduate Samantha Hastie — Posted her two best times of the season in the 6-kilometer run in the final two events of the season: 20:42.6 in a 77th- place finish at the Big Ten Champion- ships, followed by a 20:40.8 and a 49th- place mark at the Great Lakes Regional. Senior Penelopea Gordon — An All-Great Lakes Regional honoree in 2024, Gordon ran a career-best 19:49.9 over 6 kilometers to pace Michigan (10th) at the Great Lakes Regional. She earned an individual bid to the NCAA Champi- onships, where she finished 169th with a time of 20:55.8. Junior Jadyn Zdanavage — Set a career-best mark of 20:34.0 over 6 kilo- meters for a 68th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, topping the mark she set in the Wisconsin Pre-Nation- als (21:10.1). Finished 50th at the Great Lakes Regional with a time of 20:41.5. Field Hockey First Event: Aug. 29 vs. North Car- olina (ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa) Season Outlook: The 2025 cam- paign will be the first for the defending Big Ten Tournament champs under new head coach Kristi Gannon Fisher, replac- ing the retired Marcia Pankratz, and is headlined by nine home games at Phyllis Ocker Field. U-M will face three teams that participated in the NCAA Tourna- ment last year, including two Final Four squads in North Carolina and North- western. TOP THREE ATHLETES: Graduate Abby Tamer — A NFHCA first-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection, Tamer led the Wolverines in scoring with 38 points, notching career-highs in goals (12) and ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE Fall Sports Teams At U-M Ready To Get 2025 Seasons Underway Grad student Abby Tamer, a first-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection, returns after leading the Wolverines in scoring with 38 points, notching career highs in goals (12) and assists (14) last season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY