Through five kilometers, sophomores Stephanie Bertram and Anjali Hocker Singh commanded the Spartan Invitational. Sitting squarely in the top-20 pack, Bertram and Hocker Singh spearheaded the Michigan women’s cross country team’s charge through the East Lansing course. Due to intense conditions and early-season fatigue, however, the Wolverines’ dominance didn’t last through the finish line.
In the first scored meet of the 2025 season, Michigan took on 16 other programs, including conference foes Northwestern, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, Rutgers and Purdue. After a dominant showing at the Michigan Open last week, the Wolverines’ expectations were high for their top performers on Friday. Instead of repeating prior success, though, Michigan succumbed to powerful opponents, finishing fifth overall.
“We were out well, we just kind of faded,” Wolverines coach Mike McGuire said. “Everybody lost places, pretty much. So it’s just a situation of continuing to work, getting out, grouping up and staying grouped together. We definitely have work to do.”
Despite her limited experience, Hocker Singh showed a tact and confidence well beyond her years. Building off of her career-best performance at Big Ten Championships last season, Hocker Singh started off the season strong. Hocker Signh raced with aggression and determination throughout the six-kilometer Spartan Invitational. Maintaining a steady pace throughout the course, Hocker Singh shaved more than 30 seconds off of her previous best to finish 13th overall in 20:51.3.
Racing in the front pack, Hocker Singh was surrounded by the region’s top competitors. As the sole Michigan runner to finish in the top-15, Hocker Singh finished behind seven of the Wildcats’ runners, a lone runner from the Spartans and Grand Valley State, and two Cincinnati competitors — all four teams that scored ahead of Michigan. But the intense level of competition didn’t phase Hocker Singh, who instead focused on running her own race.
“She got out and stuck her nose in there,” McGuire said of Hocker Singh’s race. “She was really solid. She PR’d on 5k on her way to 6k. She’s definitely moving the needle from where she was at last year.”
But Hocker Singh’s career day wasn’t enough to uplift the entire Wolverines squad. Especially as her running partner petered off due to intense heat conditions.
Despite her dominant performance through the beginning of the race, Bertram was not part of Michigan’s scoring contingent. Instead, the next Michigan runners to cross the finish line were seniors Rylee Tolson and Penelopea Gordon, 17 runners after Hocker Singh. The duo finished 30th and 33rd respectively, leading the way for the second squad of Wolverines to secure points. The following four Michigan point-scorers finished in the top-50, rounding out the Wolverines’ 139-point final tally.
“We definitely lost some big points with Steph,” McGuire said. “We had honestly a great race running, number one for us, we’re capable of running two or more people around her. We’ve just got to shore some things up a little bit.”
While the Wolverines may have secured a fifth-place finish Friday, they were unable to capitalize on early race momentum. Consequently, Michigan may find itself falling toward the back of the race in Big Ten competition.
The post Michigan’s hot start peters off at Spartan Invitational appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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