The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 13 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Jadyn Zdanavage is a standout cross country and track run- ner for the Wolverines, after earning back-to-back all-state honors while competing for Irvine (Calif.) Portola in high school. In the 2024 cross country season, Zdanavage set her career best over 6 kilometers at 20:34.0 to finish 68th at the Big Ten Championships and came in 50th at the Great Lakes Regional with a time of 20:41.5. Here are some things about Zdanavage you may not have known: Best Aspect Of Being From Irvine, Calif: "The location, and proximity to a lot of different exciting places. We're close to the beach, so being able to run right by the ocean and then im- mediately go in it afterward, have beach days with friends and also being about an hour and a half away from the mountains. You can experience a lot of different places." Favorite Restaurant In Ann Arbor: "Bigalora. They have a Brussels sprouts pizza that is absolutely incredible. I have a dairy allergy, so the fact that they have vegan cheese in the first place makes me love them. And Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite foods." Best Meal She Can Cook By Herself: "A salmon filet in the air fryer, mac and cheese from scratch and fried Brussels sprouts." Favorite Professional Athlete: "Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. I just love how she brings her faith into her running and her journey. She's a wonderful example of a humble individual, even though she is so amazingly talented. I really love how she stays true to herself and models her faith." Sport She Enjoys Besides Running: "I grew up playing both lacrosse and basketball. I originally was looking at maybe play- ing lacrosse in college, but I ended up going with running." Favorite Movie: "'Daddy's Home 2' and 'Miracle On Ice.'" Favorite TV Show: "I'll watch 'Friends' if it's on, but that's probably about it." Why She Chose Michigan: "I knew I wanted to get out of California for college and was looking all over the map, be- cause I wanted a school that had a great athletic and academic balance — and you really can't get much better than Michigan. When I came on my official visit here, I just knew it was home. It felt immediately like this is the place that God wanted me." Favorite Memory At Michigan: "One of my favorite memo- ries was freshman year [in 2023] when we beat Ohio State [in football] at home, and I actually chose to stay here over Thanksgiving break so that I would be here for the game, because I really wanted to experience it. Rushing the field was such a cool experience; it's something I always saw on TV, and then for us to win in the fashion that we did and to see the school spirit on display was really, really cool." Overall Experience At Michigan: "Just incredible. I've been able to meet so many amazing people across sports, classes and clubs. Seeing the school spirit around Michigan and the college town that Ann Arbor is, it's really a blessing to live here. If I could say one word, it would be 'grateful' that I even have the opportunity to be at a prestigious university like Michigan, and represent the block 'M' when running cross country and track." — Clayton Sayfie ❱ Getting To Know Women's Cross Country And Track Athlete Junior Jadyn Zdanavage Zdanavage posted a career-best time of 20:34.0 over 6 kilometers to place 68th at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships last year. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY