ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Golden Grizzlies men's and women's cross country teams are set to host the Golden Grizzlies Open Cross Country Meet in Rochester. Back on the new 5k trail set north of Katke-Cousins and R&S Sharf Golf Courses, the women's college 5k event will start at 12:35 a.m., while the men's 5k starts at 1:05 p.m. ET.

On Tuesday, the Golden Grizzlies were selected in the top 5 in the Under Armour #HLXC Preseason Poll in the Horizon League. The women were selected to finish second this season, as the men were voted third place by the league's head coaches.

The women's team finished third at the HL Championships last season, as the team was led by the 2025 Women's Freshman of the Year, Eliza Bush, who returns for her sophomore year. The Golden Grizzlies are also led by seniors Anne May and Grace Wessel, fifth-year Makenna Scott, and added four new freshmen to the squad.

The men's program exceeded expectations with a second-place finish at last year's championship, as head coach Paul Rice was named the Horizon's Men's Coach of the Year, for the first time since 2017, from the team's performance. Losing the team's top three scorers from the meet, including first-team all-conference in Wesley Hollowell, the Black and Gold are led by senior Carter McCalister and juniors Mitchell Clark, Collin Farmer, Bryce Nowik, and Ethan Sandula.

Reaching out to the community, OU is also hosting middle and high school meets on the course beginning at 9 a.m. ET. For parking information, course map, and live stats for the race can all 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.