GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport men's and women's cross country teams will open their 2026 campaigns on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Northwood Invitational in Midland, Michigan.
The meet marks the first of four regular-season competitions for the Panthers. Davenport will remain close to home for the Calvin Knight Invitational on Sept. 19 before traveling to Romeoville, Illinois, for the Lewis Crossover. The regular season will conclude at the Warrior Invitational, hosted by GLIAC opponent Wayne State.
Postseason competition begins with the GLIAC Championships on Nov. 6. Qualifying runners will advance to the NCAA Regional Championships on Nov. 21, followed by the NCAA National Championships on Dec. 4.
Davenport enters the season with an experienced coaching staff led by head coach Scott Cook, who begins his 20th season at the helm of the Panthers' cross country programs. Assistant coaches Tra'Von Phillips and Julia Turri each enter their second season on the coaching staff.
Women's Team
The women's team returns three runners from last season: junior
Alyssa Butterfield (Allendale, Mich.), junior
Kaylen Clark (Newberry, Mich.) and graduate student
Cierra Guay (Manistee, Mich.).
Joining the returning group are freshmen
Kiele Buckner (Spring Lake, Mich.) and
Jocelynn Olds (Newaygo, Mich.), along with senior
Carley Lamborne (Belding, Mich.). The Panthers were selected to finish 10th in the 2026 GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Men's Team
Senior
Jordan Domany headlines the men's returning group after setting Davenport's 10K record with a time of 31:39.9 while also being named all-conference honors each year he has been a panther. He is joined by senior
Rogan Melling, redshirt juniors
Luke Oyster and
Nikolas Shilling, and junior
Lucas Van Meter.
The Panthers also welcome four newcomers: freshmen
Bryson Ballantyne (Adrian, Mich.),
Liam Bingman (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and
Aidan Simrau (Traverse City, Mich.), as well as graduate transfer
Ian Petruska (Holland, Mich.). Petruska joins Davenport after earning USTFCCCA All-America honors at Hope College.
2026 GLIAC Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
Grand Valley State |
100 (10) |
| 2 |
Northern Michigan |
85 |
| T-3 |
Wayne State |
79 |
| T-3 |
Saginaw Valley State |
79 |
| 5 |
Michigan Tech |
65 (1) |
| 6 |
Ferris State |
53 |
| 7 |
Parkside |
49 |
| 8 |
Purdue Northwest |
33 |
| 9 |
Lake Superior State |
32 |
| 10 |
Davenport |
19 |
| 11 |
Roosevelt |
11 |
2026 GLIAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
Grand Valley State |
81 (9) |
| 2 |
Saginaw Valley State |
72 (1) |
| 3 |
Michigan Tech |
62 |
| 4 |
Wayne State |
61 |
| 5 |
Ferris State |
43 |
| 6 |
Parkside |
42 |
| 7 |
Davenport |
38 |
| 8 |
Purdue Northwest |
25 |
| 9 |
Lake Superior State |
17 |
| 10 |
Roosevelt |
9 |
