ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland men's and women's cross country teams return to competition Friday, Oct. 2, traveling to South Bend, Indiana, for the prestigious Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame. The women's 5K is slated for 12 p.m. ET, followed by the men's 8K at 12:40 p.m.
The Golden Grizzlies enter the meet following a strong start to the 2026 campaign. Oakland opened the season at home with sophomore Eliza Bush defending her individual title, leading a Golden Grizzly sweep of the top five. Fifth-year Makenna Scott, senior Genavieve Kushner-Lopez, sophomore Sophy Skeels, and sophomore Ava Alicandro followed Bush across the finish line. On the men's side, freshman Brody Karg placed second, while Collin Farmer, Gabe Litzner, Moises Salazar Jr., and Bryce Nowik all finished inside the top eight.
At the George Dales Invitational on Sept. 18, Karg continued to pace the men's squad, finishing fourth overall in 24:51.7 as Oakland placed seventh with 144 points. Litzner, freshman Max Houvener, freshman David Dubeck and Farmer rounded out the scoring five. Bush led the women's team with an eighth-place finish in 21:20.2, while Scott, Skeels, sophomore Courtney Bovair, and fifth-year Amy Rowan completed Oakland's scoring lineup as the Golden Grizzlies finished ninth with 200 points.
The Joe Piane Invite marks Oakland's first competition in a weekend and provides the Golden Grizzlies with an opportunity to compete against a deep field at one of the Midwest's premier meets. Live timing for the meet can be found 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.
