Claire Hunt in the pre-race huddle at Oakland

Women's Cross Country 10.28.25

Titan Women Look For Top Times At Horizon League Championships

Women's Cross Country 10.28.25

Titan Women Look For Top Times At Horizon League Championships

DETROIT (10/29/2025) -- The calendar has turned to November, and now the time to shine is here as the University of Detroit Mercy women's cross country team will look to make a run at conference glory at the Horizon League Championships on Saturday.

The men's 8k race will start the festivities at 11:00 a.m., with the women's 6k to follow at Noon at the Mastodon Cross Country Course on the Purdue Fort Wayne campus.

Tickets to the event are $10, and Horizon League students can get in free with a valid student ID.

Last year, the Titans took seventh with 191 points. They will have six of their top seven runners back from 2024, including graduate senior Nina Pizzo, who finished 29th in 23:11, senior Claire Hunt (23:27 for 36th), and sophomore Sofia Figueroa (23:40 for 44th).

Pizzo has led the Titans in all four races, turning in some of the best times in school history, recording two top-10 efforts, three top 20's, and all four in the top 25. She lowered her 5k times all season long, with her best run of 17:59 for third at Canisius, just the seventh Titan in school history to break 18 minutes in the 5k and the seventh fastest in the HL this season. At Louisville, she posted a career-low 22:00, the sixth-best 6k time in school history and 10th in the league on the year.

Hunt has been in top three on the team all season, starting the year with a big 5k PR of 19:04 at Oakland for fourth and then tallying an 18:55 for 21st at Canisius.

Junior Helana Napiorkowski has also been a part of the top four on the squad in all four races. She was 10th at Oakland's 5k in 19:27 and 16th at Canisius in 18:47, while in the lone 6k event of the year, she registered a 23:31 for 73rd at Louisville.

Senior Ayva Schmalz has been a part of the scoring five in three races, with her best 5k time of 19:36 for 47th at Notre Dame, and junior Alaina Burns has twice lowered her 5k career time, with her best of 19:34 for 31st in upstate New York.

In its history, Detroit Mercy has won two championships, taking the crown in 1986 and 1987. UDM also has 24 top-five finishes, including two runner-up marks and nine third-place efforts.

The Titans have had an All-Horizon League runner in 11 of the last 13 seasons. Three harriers have won individual championships as Bonnie Fitzpatrick '88 was the first in 1987, Angie Lefere '01 in 1997, and Kim Hemstreet '02 in 2002. Nancy Mandziara '88 was runner-up twice in 1986 and 1987, while Allison Sherman '22 collected silver in 2022.

Fitzpatrick, Lefere, and Sherman are also the only Titans in school history to have earned All-League honors four times.

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