The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 49 BY ANTHONY BROOME U -M Athletics gears up for the 2026- 27 fall season with both veteran leaders and rising talent across its pro- grams, which hit the ground running with the dawn of the new school year. They are aiming to build on champion- ship legacies, chase conference titles and push their programs to new heights. Here is a primer on each of them heading into the fall season and their respective campaigns: Men's Cross Country First Event: TBD Season Outlook: U-M placed fourth out of 15 Big Ten teams last season, fifth out of 30 programs at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 31st out of 32 teams at the NCAA Championships. The Wol- verines now look to push the program forward ahead of the 2026-27 season. Top Three Athletes: Senior Trent McFarland – The NCAA 1,500-meter silver medalist in outdoor track and field returns for his senior season running cross country, where he was an All-Big Ten second- team selection last season, headlined by a 14th-place finish in the 8-kilometer run (23:46.9) at the Big Ten Champion- ships. Senior Nathan Lopez – A UST- FCCCA Cross Country All-Region member and All-Big Ten second-team selection during the 2025 campaign, Lopez also captured silver in the 5,000 (14:09.51) at the 2024 USATF U20 Championships. Senior Camden Law – An All-Big Ten first-team indoor performer, All- America first-teamer in the distance medley relay and All-America second- teamer in the outdoor 800 for the track and field program, Law ran a career- best 15:20.2 over 5 kilometers in a fifth- place finish at the EMU Fall Classic. Women's Cross Country First Event: TBD Season Outlook: The Wolverines are looking to raise the bar this season following a rebuilding year in which they finished ninth in the Big Ten and seventh (out of 32 teams) at last year's NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Top Three Athletes: Graduate Penelopea Gordon – A cross country All-Great Lakes Region member in 2024, Gordon posted a 33rd- place finish in the 2025 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, running 20:51.5 over 6 kilometers. Senior Brooke Johnston – Com- peted unattached in cross country in 2025 but finished 17th at the Big Ten Championships in indoor track and field, running a career-best 9:21.61 in the 3,000, and 25th in the outdoor Big Ten Championships with a 17:41.17 in the 5,000. Junior Katelyn Watkins – Ran a career-best 21:09.5 over 6 kilometers to finish 55th at the Big Ten Champion- ships in 2025 and finished 98th (21:54.9) in the 6-kilometer run at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Field Hockey First Event: Aug. 28 vs. North Caro- lina (in Winston-Salem, N.C.) Season Outlook: U-M is looking for its 17th consecutive winning season in head coach Kristi Gannon Fisher's ❱ OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE FALL OLYMPIC PREVIEW Senior Abby Burnett delivered the game-winning goal in double overtime vs. No. 17 Rutgers in last season's Big Ten Tournament. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY