ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Golden Grizzlies men's and women's indoor track and field teams continue the 2026 indoor season this weekend at the Notre Dame Invitational, hosted at the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Indiana.
Oakland enters the weekend after a big performance at the Al Campbell Invitational in Akron last Friday. For the women, grad student Catherine Leahy highlighted the day for Oakland, finishing third overall in the 400 meter race with a time of 57.08 seconds. She also added in a 10th-place finish in the 200 meters in 25.46, while A'Naia Herd ran 59.89 in the 400. The throws group delivered multiple top performances. Senior Jamie Giese broke Oakland's women's indoor shot put record at 14.05m, followed up by a 15.74m performance with the weight throw. Showcasing her multi-event talent, Anderson picked up a 11.69m, followed by teammate Lainee Wagner with 11.58m in the shot put. In the weight throw, Elizabeth Rice threw 15.64m for a top mark from the Golden Grizzlies on the evening.
On the men's side, sophomore Pierce Grzymkowski led the way for the Golden Grizzlies with a runner-up finish in the 800 meters, crossing in 1:53.83. Teammates Tyler Donovan (1:57.21) and Bryce Nowik (1:58.26) also turned in solid efforts in the event. In the mile, freshman Collin McLaughlin paced Oakland with a time of 4:21.51, followed by Collin Farmer (4:24.21) and in his first collegiate race, freshman Mamdouh Abukaram (4:32.16). The distance group added another strong showing in the 3000 meters, led by Carter McCalister in 8:40.10 and Joe Shaya in 8:46.18. Sophomore Xavier Davis picked up a fourth-place finish in the long jump, recording a 6.77m jump as the lone Oakland men's competitor in the event.
The Golden Grizzlies will look to build on that momentum against a deep field at Notre Dame including DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Lewis, Loyola Chicago, Notre Dame, Purdue Fort Wayne, Toledo, Valparaiso, and Windsor, as the indoor season continues toward Horizon League competition.
Competition begins Saturday afternoon at the Loftus Sports Center. Live timing for the meet is available HERE.
How to Follow Oakland Cross Country/Track and Field: For complete information on Oakland Cross Country/Track and Field teams, follow the team on X at @OaklandTrackXC. The team is also on Instagram.
