DETROIT (8/27/2025) -- The 42nd edition of the University of Detroit Mercy women's cross country team will hit the course this week as the Titans begin the season at Oakland on Friday.

The women's 5k is set for an 11:45 a.m. start, with the men's 5k to follow at 12:15 p.m. at the Oakland Cross Country course.

The Titans return 13 letterwinners from last season, where UDM was seventh at the Horizon League Championship. Detroit Mercy lost its top runner at the event in Evie Wright, but the rest of the scoring unit is back.

"We are going to be a pack team again, but coming off a good track season, this could be a deeper pack," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Guy Murray '89. "The sophomore class is going to play a big role in how they develop from their freshman year, but with our seniors, we could be as good, if not better, up front."

Graduate senior Nina Pizzo is the top returner after finishing 29th at the HL meet and a 6k PR of 22:25.7 for 160th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, tied for the 25th fastest 6k in school history. Along the way, she routinely broke PR's in the 5k, with her best time of 18:47 at the Louisville Classic, as she led the squad in three races and was second on the team in the other three.

"With Nina, you could see it these past years, her gradual development, and how she continued to improve," said coach Murray. "She was always consistent with her training, and that paid off for her last year. She always has these hiccups, but finally it came through."

Senior Claire Hunt is back after a successful first year of cross country last season, where she placed 36th in 23:27.4 at the Horizon League Championships and a career-best 22:49.1 for 176th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. 

"She is going to be right up there," said coach Murray. "She had a good track season and has a lot of miles under her belt. She has been consistently healthy, and we expect her to have a very good season."

Two more seniors with experience return in seniors Taylor Myers and Ayva Schmalz.

The junior class took a step up and will look to improve on last year's performance. Helana Napiorkowski ran 24:12.0 for 76th at the Horizon League Championship. Alaina Burns ended the year with a 5k PR of 24:27.3 at the conference meet and followed that up with a 6k PR of 23:25.8 at the regionals. Abby Fifield turned in a 5k career-best of 24:27.3 at Bowling Green, and Avery Saunder will look to get back in the rotation after competing in three races a year ago.

The sophomore class had some ups and downs last year, but will now look to move on from their rookie experience. Sofia Figueroa battled some injuries early on but had a big debut at Louisville, clocking a time of 19:35, and then was fifth at the regionals in 23:05. Ana Lopez and Kirsten Koss ran in five of the six races as Lopez set career lows at Louisville and Bowling, while Koss was 69th at the HL Championship and made the squad to run at the regionals. Aubrey Keeler and Aubrey Mery also competed in three races, with Keeler taking part in the postseason.  

Three freshmen will also look to help the team move up in Sophia Aquino, Alaa Selman, and Addie Stanley.

"We had a pretty good summer, our top five all had a PR in our time trial, so it is going to be a pretty interesting season. If we can continue to improve and stay healthy, we will accomplish a lot."