Dec. 1, 2010

Season Wrap-Up

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Four team championships and three individual wins highlighted a successful 2010 season for the Oakland University men's and women's cross country teams.

"It's been an incredible season for the women and we are still flying high," said head coach Paul Rice. "I'm sad to see the season end. Especially for our four seniors who have been with us for the last five years. I'm starting to prepare for next year but the girls at least are still living in the moment."

When the season started for the women, there were no signs of the magical season that they would end up having. Oakland started the season being picked to finish fourth in The Summit League. Sara Lieblein and Kelsey Carmean went 1-2 at the Golden Grizzly Open (Sept. 4) followed by a third place finish at the IPFW Invitational (Sept. 11).

Following a three-week layoff, Oakland returned with a vengeance edging No. 18 West Virginia, 91-104, to win the Gold Race at the Notre Dame Invitational (Oct. 1). Despite the Mountaineers going 1-2 in the race, OU put five among the top 33 to offset it. Lia Jones ran 18:02 to place fifth, the third fastest 5K time in school history.

From that point forward, every meet the Golden Grizzlies stepped it up a notch. They tallied 49 points to win the Michigan Intercollegiates (Oct. 8) for the first time in school history. In addition to beating No. 18 Michigan State, Carmean, Brittni Hutton, Jones and Lieblein earned All-Michigan honors.

Oakland made their presence known nationally by finishing fifth with 262 points at the Chile Pepper Festival (Oct. 17). Jones ran the second fastest 5K time in school history at 17:23.63, one of six runners to crack the top 10 in OU history. Placing ahead of No. 25 Arkansas, No. 35 SMU and No. 39 Oklahoma was a factor in OU being ranked 15th in the Great Lakes Region.

All the hard work paid off as the Golden Grizzlies edged Southern Utah 45-50 to win the Summit League Championship (Oct. 30), the first conference title in the history of the program. Earning first team honors were Jones, Lieblein and Hutton who finished 4-5-6, respectively. Carmean placed eighth to earn second team honors. All four of their times ranked among the top five in school history for the 6K.

"They are a hard working bunch for sure," said Rice. "We came into this season with a game plan of staying healthy. We knew if we could do that, then we would be running well at the end of the season. They just exceeded expectations. Every week, we just stepped it up a notch from the week before. They bought into my systems and I'm very proud of what we accomplished."

OU put an end to the season with a 14th place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship (Nov. 13). It was the best finish ever for Oakland at regionals as well as being their lowest point total. Jones led the way running 21:48.50 (6K) to place 47th.

"It was a mixed bag with the men this season," said Rice. "We won the Michigan Intercollegiates and placed second at the conference meet. We struggled this season with getting the guys to put it all together at the same meet. I can't fault their effort or desire though. They didn't get discourage and they kept working hard all season long. Although we never have finished higher than 16th at regionals, this year we scored the lowest points we ever have. That is attributed to their effort and desire."

On the men's side, Oakland had five all-league runners returning which helped them to be picked third in the coaches' poll. The Golden Grizzlies took the top four spots at the Golden Grizzly Open (Sept. 4). Pat Cassady ran 19:08 (6K) to win his first race of his collegiate career.

Over the next two races, Oakland finished ahead of No. 34 Washington as well as conference rivals IPFW, Southern Utah and Western Illinois. OU's experience showed as they won the Michigan Intercollegiates (Oct. 8) by 24 points over Eastern Michigan. Leading the way was Cassady and Brandon Griffin who went 1-2 to earn All-Michigan honors. Earning all-state honors as well was Kevin Cataldo, Nate Ismond and Anthony Sterzick.

The Golden Grizzlies followed that up cracking the top 10 at the Chile Pepper Festival (Oct. 17). They finished ahead of Auburn, Houston, LSU and TCU, Jones ran the second fastest 10K in school history at 30:32.01 to place 32nd. In addition, Cassady, Griffin, Steven Marcinkowski, Tony Schafer and Ross Solanskey all cracked the top 15 in OU history.

Oakland had three all-league runners to place second at The Summit League Championships (Oct. 30). Jones ran 24:39.20 (8K) to place second, becoming the third runner to earn all-league honors four times. Making all-league as well was Cassady and Griffin.

The Golden Grizzlies finished the season placing 16th at the Great Lakes Regional Championship (Nov. 13). Jones led the way placing 48th with a time of 31:33.60.

"The sad part of seeing a season end is the realization that you are losing kids," said Rice. "It will be a little weird not seeing Erica (D'Angelo), Zack (Jones) and Sara (Lieblein) out there next fall. The contributions, on and off the field, they have made over the past five years just can't be measured. Those three and the rest of our seniors have done a nice job of showing the younger runners how to make an impact and build a legacy."

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