The Oakland men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Detroit Mercy/Running Fit Invitational on Saturday, September 7 and the men's team claimed the team title, while the women finished fifth in the Division I meet. "I'm really excited with the first place finish for the men," head coach Paul Rice said. "We've been running in this race for 10 years and this is the first time we've ever won. I hope it is a sign of good things to come this year. "The women didn't have a strong race, but the team is young and will only develop as the season progresses." The men claimed both the Division I and open titles. Oakland's men finished the open with 58 points ahead of Wayne State (61), Eastern Michigan (71), Cedarville (74), Front Line Racing Team (173), Running Fit-UDM Alums (165), Detroit (169) and Macomb (196). The NCAA Division I race placed the OU men first with 27 points and Eastern Michigan (32) and Detroit (69) rounded out the field in second and third places, respectively. Sophomore Adam Frezza (Oxford/Lake Orion HS) led the way for OU finishing second overall in the four-mile race in 20:44. Sophomore Paul Kulisek (Wonder Lake, Illinois/Woodstock HS) crossed the finish line in fifth place (20:52), while junior Brandon Fisk (Shelby Township/Eisenhower HS) and senior Ryan Bissell (Vassar/Vassar HS) rounded off OU's top four. Fisk ran a 21:23, while Bissell finished in 21:29. Also running for Oakland were sophomore Matt Nistor (28th/22:22), senior Gabe Wordell (42nd/23:20) and senior Rob Camilleri (53rd/24:44). The women finished eighth in the open meet out of 10 teams and fifth out of five in NCAA Division I competition. Sophomore Melissa Nasers (Battle Creek/Lakeview HS) led Oakland in the women's 5K race finishing 15th in 19:12. Sophomore Sarah Kane (Sterling Heights/Sterling Heights HS) followed with a 27th-place finish after crossing the line in 19:32. Freshman Kim Schultz (Vermillion, Ohio/Vermillion HS) was the third Golden Grizzly runner finishing 51st in 20:44 and freshmen Sarah Drouillard (Lake Orion/Lake Orion HS) and Marissa Montgomery rounded off the top five. Drouillard finished 58th in 21:04, while Montgomery ran the 5K in 21:44 (64th). Also running for Oakland were junior Andrea Sutter (66th/21:57) and junior Lisa Marie Cianciolo (68th/22:13). Next up for the Golden Grizzlies is the Mel Brodt Invitational hosted by Bowling Green State University. The race will be held on Saturday, September 14.