ROCHESTER, Mich. – On Friday morning, Oakland University Men's and Women's Cross Country wrapped up the 2022 season with 20th and 21st-place finishes in Terre Haute, Indiana at the legendary Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course as part of the 2022 NCAA Division I Great Lakes Regionals.

Grace Nolan paced the way in the women's 6,000-kilometer race with a 91st-place finish out of 219 competitors, averaging a 5:55.9 mile en route to a 22:07.1 finishing time. Behind her were four Golden Grizzlies in a tight pack starting with Rachel Kempf in 126th in 22:33.9. 

Brooke Hinkelman and Jennifer Ohlsson crossed the line in 129th and 130th, respectively, approximately a second apart from each other in 22:35.7 and 22:36.7. Rounding out scoring individuals for Oakland was Erin Hegarty, who stopped her watch in 22:38.3 in 132nd-place. 

2022 #HLXC individual champion, Yami Albrecht, found himself in the mix in the top fifty of the men's 10,000-kilometer run in 30:59.1 in 42nd place out of 196 competitors. Adam Jesse was next to cross the line in 119th with a time of 32:30.0 as Trey Plichta was just behind in 32:43.9 for 128th.

The final two scorers for OU, Adam Hill and Wesley Hollowell, paced times of 32:45.3 and 33:09.1 to mark finishes of 130th and 144th, respectively. 

Notre Dame and Ohio State secured the automatic bids to advance to the National Championships on the women's side with other in-state competitors, Michigan and Michigan State, awaiting at-large berths. The Golden Grizzlies finished 21st out of 31 competing women's teams with 603 points as the second Horizon League team in the final standings. 

The men's 10K saw Wisconsin and Notre Dame receive the auto finishes in first and second, respectively, with Michigan, Butler, and Michigan State following along to see if their efforts will put them into the National Championships later this month. Oakland took 20th of 29 with 563 points. 

The 2022 season has ended, and both squads will turn their attention to the 2022-23 Indoor Track & Field season.