Emily Stetz

Women's Track & Field 12/3/2025 2:30:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Indoor Track and Field To Commence Season This Friday

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's track and field program will embark on its 14th season this Friday at the SVSU Holiday Open. Under the direction of ninth-year head coach Grant Lofdahl, the 2025-26 Warriors will look to maintain the lofty standards set by previous squads.

At the GLIAC Indoor Championships, WSU has placed in the top five each of the last five years, including a program-best second-place finish a season ago.

WSU returns 33 letterwinners, including nine sprinters.

The three three-year letterwinners in sprints are Hanne Bastiaansen (Tessenderlo, Belgium), Elyse Miller (Woodhaven, Mich. / Gibraltar Carlson) and Avery Wilson (Davison, Mich.). Bastiaansen won the 200m dash at the 2025 GLIAC Indoor Championships, while Miller was a member of the second-place 4x400m relay at the league meet and also scored in the 200m dash. Wilson was also a member of the runner-up 4x400m relay quartet, and placed fourth in the 400m dash.

A quartet of upperclassmen in juniors Tianna Bennett (Howell, Mich.), Rachel Overgaard (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ann Arbor Huron) and Sasha-Gay Thompson (Plymouth/Shantamee, Jamaica / Titchfield), and senior Emmanuel Johnson (Clinton Township, Mich. / Chippewa Valley) provide experience for associate head coach Nate Miller's position group. Bennett competed in the 400m dash last March, while Overgaard scored in the 200m dash. Thompson notched points in both the 60m dash and 200m dash at GLIACs, while Johnson ran a season-best time for 200m at GLIACs last winter.

Also returning is sophomore Lauren Wooten (Grand Blanc, Mich.), who competed in the 60m dash at GLIAC's last March.

Newcomers to the sprint group are Audrey Huizinga (Manistee, Mich.) and Marissa Madia (Belle River, Ont. / Belle River District). Huizinga finished second in the 400m dash in a personal-best time of 56.76, and placed third in the 200m dash at the 2025 MHSAA Division 3 track meet, while Madia set three school records: 100m dash, 200m dash and 4x100m relay and advanced to the provincial championships as a senior.

The mid-distance crew has six returning letterwinners despite the fact graduate student Robin Bresolin (LaSalle, Ont. / St. Thomas of Villanova) only has outdoor eligibility remaining. This contingent will be led by three-year letterwinners Emily Gordon (Northville, Mich.) and Rachel Felstow (Leonard, Mich. / Romeo). Gordon earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors for the 800m run last winter and placed 16th at the NCAA Championships. Meanwhile, Felstow was a member of the third-place DMR at GLIACs.

Juniors Anna Gdowski (Northville, Mich.) and Meagan Verellen (Shelby Township, Mich. / Utica) are poised to take the next step. Gdowski scored in the 800m run at the 2025 GLIAC Championships, while Verellen is coming off her best cross country season as a Warrior. Other returnees include redshirt senior Jessica Denver (Imlay City, Mich. / Imlay City [SC4 / Catawba]), sophomore Annalise Elliott (Sparta, Mich. / Cedar Springs) and redshirt freshman Sydney Smith (Davison, Mich.). All three will be looking for their first appearance at the GLIAC Championships.

The three newcomers to the mid-distance group are Eastern Michigan transfer Katie Rohrer (Charlevoix, Mich. [Eastern Michigan]), Oakland Community College transfer Olivia Lincourt (Northville, Mich. / Farmington [Oakland C.C.]) and freshman Reese Hansen (Grand Rapids, Mich. / City High Middle School/Ottawa Hills). Rohrer participated in three indoor meets in 2025 for EMU, while Hansen had a busy fall competing in six meets and finishing 51st at the GLIAC Cross Country Championships.

The distance group will be led by three-year letterwinners Sarah Greb (Washington, Mich. / Romeo) and Aubrey Migoski (Wyandotte, Mich. / Roosevelt). Migoski competed at GLIACs in the 3,000m run a year ago, while Greb has participated in 10 indoor meets in her collegiate career. Graduate student Taylor Hopkins (Sanford, Mich. / Meridian [Northwood]) and sophomore Emilee Rudlaff (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Central) are the two other returning letterwinners. Hopkins finished fifth at GLIACs in the mile (season-best time of 4:59.24) and 10th in the 3,000m run (season-best time of 10:11.09) last March, while Rudlaff competed in the 3K race at last season's GLIAC Championships. Sophomores Remi Flanz (Eastpointe, Mich. / Fraser High School / Macomb Math Science and Technology Center) and Paige McArdle (Davison, Mich.) both redshirted during the indoor season a year ago.

The three newcomers to the distance crew are freshmen Ava Peters (Livonia, Mich. / Franklin) and Kendall Sears (Napoleon, Ohio / Pettisville), along with Ella Showerman (South Lyon, Mich. / Brighton [Michigan State]) who ran with the Michigan State club program a season ago. Both Peters and Showerman were Second Team All-GLIAC honorees for this past cross country season, with Sears running in three cross country meets this past fall.

Assistant Coach Celine Freeman-Gibb added depth to her throws group with five freshmen joining veterans Peyton Hansen (Freeland, Mich. [Siena Heights]), Makayla Stewart (Novi, Mich.) and Ania Toboy (Wyandotte, Mich. / Roosevelt). The five rookies are Edimari King (Farmington, Mich.), Mariska Laurila (Carney, Mich. / Carney-Nadeau), Ella McCarty (Timmins, Ont. / O'Gorman), Taylor Morrison (Houston, Texas / Lamar) and Jaeda Tilton (Chesterfield, Mich. / Anchor Bay). Hansen will continue to train for javelin competitions for the outdoor season. Stewart scored in the shot put at last year's indoor and outdoor GLIAC Championships, while Toboy scored in both hammer and discus during outdoor GLIACs.

King won the regional meet as a senior in the discus and placed fourth at the state meet with a personal-best mark of 134-6, while Laurila won both the discus and shot put at the 2024 MHSAA U.P. finals, then placed second and sixth, respectively as a senior. McCarty placed second at the 2025 Ontario Track & Field Championships in the javelin (38.78m). Morrison placed second in the shot put and third in the discus at the 2025 UIL 6A District meet in Texas, while Tilton participated in the MHSAA Division 1 Regional track meet in both the shot put and discus.

The two competitors in the multis are senior Idalia Shadhaya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich. / Sterling Heights/Career Prep Center) and freshman Ella Hufnagel (Fowler, Mich.). Shadhaya redshirted last indoor season after placing ninth in the pentathlon in 2024. Hufnagel took first in the long jump at the 2025 MHSAA Division 4 state meet with a personal-best mark of 18-2.25, placed third in the 100m dash, fourth in the 200m dash and third in the 400m dash after winning the high jump at the 2025 regional meet.

Six veterans return to the "Jumps" crew including two-year letterwinners in senior Annabelle Smith (Blissfield, Mich. [Willamette]), along with juniors Gracie Klin (Capac, Mich.) and Nicole Warren (Saline, Mich.). Annabelle Smith scored in the long jump in 2025, while Klink competed in the high jump at GLIACs. Warren finished fourth in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 10.76m at GLIACs, and eighth in the long jump (5.14m). Other returning letterwinners include junior Nevaeh Branson (Mason, Mich.), and sophomores Olivia Findlay (Marlette, Mich.) and Ava Steinhebel (Dearborn, Mich. / Edsel Ford). Branson missed of last year with an injury after finishing third in the high jump in 2024. Findlay finished fourth at GLIACs in the high jump (1.65m) and ninth in the triple jump (10.15m), while Steinhebel placed seventh at GLIACs in the high jump (1.50m) and 12th in the triple jump (9.27m).

The three newcomers for jumps are freshmen Sohanny Gonzalez (Wyoming, Mich. / Wyoming Potter's House Christian), Teagan Kimble (Mattawan, Mich.) and Sophie Pell (Olivet, Mich.). Gonzalez won the long jump state title in both 2023 (Division 4) and 2024 (Division 3) before placing third as a senior. Kimble finished fourth in the high jump at the 2024 MHSAA Division 1 regional track meet at Portage Central with a jump of 4-10, while Pell competed at the 2025 MHSAA Division 2 regional track meet in the high jump, 100m hurdles and the 300m hurdles.

The six-member hurdles corps, includes five returning letterwinners and one freshman. Graduate student Richelle Cotter (Mt. Morris, Mich. / Flint Carman-Ainsworth [UM-Flint]) and redshirt junior Keneisha Thomas (Madison Heights, Mich. / Lamphere) return to the active roster after redshirting in 2025. The other returning letterwinners are senior Iyana Coates (East Lansing, Mich.), along with sophomores Alex Harmer (Woodstock, Ont. / Huron Park S.S.) and Megan Zahnow (Vicksburg, Mich.). Zahnow finished seventh in the 60m hurdles (9.05) last March at GLIACs, while Harmer also competed in the 60m hurdles. Coates is shifting over to hurdles from sprints.

The lone newcomer to the group is Sophie Smith (Dearborn, Mich. / Trenton), who participated in the 2025 MHSAA Division 2 state meet in the 100m hurdles (7th-15.32) and 300m hurdles.

After the meet this Friday, the Warriors will take a month off for exams and the holidays with the next competition slated for January 16, 2026, at the Findlay Alumni Classic.

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Players Mentioned

Hanne Bastiaansen: Sprints; 5' 5"; Senior; 3-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Tianna Bennett: Sprints; 5' 7"; Junior; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Nevaeh Branson: Jumps; 5' 5"; Junior; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor

Robin Bresolin: Mid-Distance; 5' 3"; Graduate Student; 4-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Iyana Coates: Sprints/Hurdles; 5' 5"; Senior; 3-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Richelle Cotter: Hurdles; 5' 5"; Graduate Student; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Jessica Denver: Mid-Distance; 5' 3"; Redshirt Senior; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor

Annalise Elliott: Mid-Distance; 5' 7"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor

Rachel Felstow: Mid-Distance; 5' 8"; Senior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Olivia Findlay: Jumps; 5' 9"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor

Players Mentioned

Hanne Bastiaansen
: 5' 5"; Senior; 3-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Sprints

Tianna Bennett
: 5' 7"; Junior; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Sprints

Nevaeh Branson
: 5' 5"; Junior; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Jumps

Robin Bresolin
: 5' 3"; Graduate Student; 4-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Iyana Coates
: 5' 5"; Senior; 3-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Sprints/Hurdles

Richelle Cotter
: 5' 5"; Graduate Student; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Hurdles

Jessica Denver
: 5' 3"; Redshirt Senior; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Annalise Elliott
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor
: Mid-Distance

Rachel Felstow
: 5' 8"; Senior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Olivia Findlay
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Jumps