DETROIT -- Grant Lofdahl, who is in his ninth season as head coach of the cross country and women's track and field squads, has announced the addition of four freshmen for the 2026-27 academic year.  Joining the Warriors in the fall of 2026 will be Elise Barden (Vassar, Mich. / Frankenmuth), October Harns (Okemos, Mich.), Cecilia Kreiter (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester Adams) and Nevaeh Polovina (Davison, Mich.).

This quartet is in addition to the trio announced previously.

Elise Barden, 5-5, Fr., Vassar, Mich. / Frankenmuth
High School:  Will be a 2026 graduate of Frankenmuth High School ... was a four-year cross country letterwinner for coach Michael Snyder ... helped the Eagles to one Tri-Valley Conference (TVC) title (2023) and three runner-up league finishes ... received First Team All-TVC honors each of her final two seasons after being a Second Team selection in 2022 and Honorable Mention recipient in 2023 ... was a four-time First Team All-County honoree (finished third in both 2024 and 2025, after placing fifth in 2022 and sixth in 2023) ... competed in the MHSAA Division 2 state finals cross country meet all four years finishing ninth as a senior in a personal-best time of 18:10.6 ... served as a cross country team captain as a senior ... was a member of two 4x800m relay regional champions (2023 and 2025), with the 2025 quartet placing seventh at the MHSAA Division 2 state track meet ... finished second (2025), third (2023) and seventh (2024) in the 3200m race at the regional championships ... placed third in the 1,600m event in both 2023 and 2025 at the regional meet ... received Academic All-State recognition along with Academic All-TVC ... is a member of the National Honor Society ... has a weighted GPA over 4.0.

Personal:  Full name -- Elise K. Barden ... born on April 3, 2008, in Southfield, Mich. ... daughter of Adam and Jean Barden ... has a younger brother, Reid ... plans to major in Pre-Med.

Coach Lofdahl on Elise Barden:  "Elise was on our radar for a while, but she had a very strong junior track season and a huge senior cross country season and by September, we knew we needed her on our team.  She is the total-package student-athlete:  outstanding in the classroom, great attitude and work ethic, and loads of upside as a distance runner.  She can step in and make an impact right away in the fall."

October Harns, 5-2, Fr., Okemos, Mich. / Okemos
High School:  Will be a 2026 graduate of Okemos High School ... earned four varsity letters in cross country for coach Brian Harrod ... helped the Wolves to three Capital Area Activities Conference (CAAC) titles (2022-23-25) and a runner-up finish in 2024, along with back-to-back regional titles in 2022 and 2023 ... competed in the MHSAA Division 1 state final cross country meet all four years ... finished 15th as a senior in a personal-best time of 17:57.3, after placing third at the regional meet ... placed fifth at the 2025 MHSAA Regional track meet in the 3200m race ... finished third in the CAAC Blue Division Championship meet in a then personal-best time of 11:39.28 ... ran an 11:21.73 at the 2025 MITCA Champions of Champions Festival ... recorded a personal-best 1600m time of 5:18.11 at the 2025 Greater Lansing Honor Roll Meet of Champions.

Personal:  Full name -- October M. Harns ... born on June 26, 2008, in Lansing, Mich. ... daughter of Tony Bardy and Leila Harns ... plans to major in Special Education with a minor in Psychology.

Coach Lofdahl on October Harns:  "October has the ability to be an elite D2 runner, and we are very excited to have her competing in the green and gold. She is someone who has run well on the track, but truly excels most on the grass and trails of cross country.  With continued aerobic development, she can do big, big things over the next few years in the 6K in cross and in the long distance track events."

Cecilia Kreiter, 5-4, Fr., Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester Adams
High School:  Will be a 2026 graduate of Rochester Adams High School ... was a three-year cross country letterwinner for the Highlanders ... helped coach Eric Lohr's cross country squad to the 2025 OAA (Oakland Activities Association) Red Division title ... competed at both the 2024 and 2025 MHSAA Division 1 state cross country meet ... ran a personal-best of 19:27.9 for 5K at the 2024 state finals ... will earn her third letter in track this spring after competing on the JV squad as a freshman ... finished third in the 3,200m race at the 2024 MHSAA Division 1 regional track meet at Rochester, and fourth the following year ... posted a personal-best time of 11:33.03 for 3,200m at the 2024 Oakland County Championship meet to place sixth, then finished seventh as a junior ... has over a 4.0 weighted GPA.

Personal:  Full name -- Cecilia A. Kreiter ... born on March 14, 2008, in Vienna, Austria ... daughter of Christoph and Amelie Kreiter ... has a younger brother, Casper ... plans to major in Pre-Med/Neuroscience.

Coach Lofdahl on Cecilia Kreiter:  "We just started recruiting Cecilia in the middle of the 2025 cross country season, and are pleased to add her to what is likely to be our best recruiting class so far in WSU cross country history.  She is excellent in the classroom, and has shown plenty of ability and improvement on both the track and cross country course."

Nevaeh Polovina, 5-2, Fr., Davison, Mich. / Davison
High School:  Will be a 2026 graduate of Davison High School ... was a four-year cross country letterwinner for coach Mike Crongeyer ... earned All-Region recognition each of her final three seasons ... received First Team All-Saginaw Valley League accolades each of her final three years after garnering Second Team honors as a freshman ... competed at the MHSAA Division 1 state cross country meet in both 2023 and 2024 ... ran a personal-best 18:51.9 for 5,000m at the 2024 MITCA Meet of Champions ... will earn her third track letter this spring ... ran the third leg of the 4x800m relay at the 2024 MHSAA Division 1 regional track meet with current WSU team members Sydney Smith and Paige McArdle ... placed sixth as a freshman at the regional track meet in the 1,600m event ... finished third in the 3,200m race at the 2024 regional track meet in a personal-best time of 11:42.51 ... posted a personal-best 1,600m time of 5:20.21 at the 2025 SVL Track and Field Championships.

Personal:  Full name -- Nevaeh J. Polovina ... born on December 11, 2008, in Flint, Mich. ... daughter of Anthony and Amanda Polovina ... has a younger brother, Xander, and two younger sisters, Zayda and Skylar ... plans to major in Nursing.

Coach Lofdahl on Nevaeh Polovina:  "The connection between the strong track and cross country programs at Davison and our team at WSU continues with Nevaeh's signing this fall.  She is a tough runner who has been coached well in high school and should make a smooth transition to college training. She definitely is someone who we think will excel at this level, with increased training volume and with a bunch of talented training partners to work with each day."