The Oakland men’s and women’s cross country seasons kicked off on Aug. 30 at the 55th annual Tommy Evans Invitational, hosted by the University of Akron.
The invitational featured the men’s and women’s teams from Oakland, Akron, Bowling Green, Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Mount Union, Ohio, Ohio State, Toledo and Youngstown State.
For a quick refresher, the Youngstown men’s and Oakland women’s teams won the 2023 Horizon League Championship at Wright State. Both teams earned preseason number-one rankings for the 2024 season from the Horizon League coaches.
Women’s 5k
As the gun sounded, 116 racers began the event, with the 5k (3.1 miles) race starting around 6:15 pm at Silver Creek Metro Park. Notably, this course will be the same one where the regional meet will be held later in the year.
“We wanted a preview and feel for the course so that when the time comes, we’re already familiar,“ junior Makenna Scott said.
Oakland had 12 runners total in the race and finished fourth overall behind Toledo, Ohio State, and Bowling Green. Graduate student Grace Nolan had an excellent day, finishing fourth with a time of 17:54.7. Nolan helped lead the women’s team to their championship last year, earning All-League First Team and finishing third in the 6k championship.
Four other Grizzlies finished in the top 50:
- Senior Erin Hegarty came in 16th.
- Junior Makenna Scott got 28th.
- Senior Sarah-Rose Sullivan finished 36th.
- Graduate student Brooke Aho earned 47th.
“At the invitational, I personally thought I had a solid day considering the heat and rain delays,“ Hegarty said after the meet.
Training for races like this isn’t easy by any means. Hegarty described the team’s rigorous running schedule, which includes three days a week of training capped off by a long run on Saturdays. The training is all part of the process, as Hegarty says her goals are to “be First-Team All-Conference at our championship meet and to win the conference championship in consecutive years.”
Scott’s mindset post-race was very positive, but she still sees room for improvement.
“We have a lot of work to put in still. Personally, I’m not happy with my race, but I had to adjust during the race to keep myself out of the danger zone,“ Scott said.
As a runner who has experienced heat stroke in the past, Scott is always mindful of the dangers present in her sport, but she keeps herself focused by aiming for improvement every meet.
“Either way, good or bad, every race is a learning experience,“ Scott said. “My goal for this season is to help the team capture a back-to-back conference championship, along with placing well as an individual at the championship.”
The Toledo women’s team cruised to victory, with seven runners finishing in the top 20, led by freshman Melody Jebiwot’s time of 17:48.5. Ohio State was able to finish second by placing four of their runners in the top 20 despite not having a single runner in the top five.
Men’s 6k
After the women’s race wrapped up, the men took off on their 6k (3.73 miles) race. Only 98 runners participated in this event as compared to the women’s 116.
Last season at the Horizon League championship, the Oakland men finished third. With the motivation to come for first this season, Grizzlies would emerge with a fantastic second-place finish, led by graduate student Yami Albrecht in fifth place with a time of 18:18.8. Albrecht earned First-Team All-Conference last season in the Horizon League for Oakland and is well on his way to dominating another year.
Four other Grizzlies finished in the top 20:
- Junior Wesley Hollowell finished 11th.
- Graduate student Michael Hancock came in 16th.
- Sophomore Carter McCalister earned 18th.
- Senior Tristan Brandenburg came in 20th.
Hollowell joined Albrecht on the All-Conference Team last season, earning a spot on the Second Team. Hollowell has high hopes for the season, stating his biggest goal is to “bring home some hardware as a team” by “performing when it matters at the conference and regional meets.” He also spoke about the depth of the men’s team.
“This team is deadly. Lots of talent, lots of hard work, lots of passion for the team and the sport,” Hollowell said. “I am incredibly impressed with this freshmen class and can’t wait to see what we can do with all the potential they have.”
At the event’s conclusion, Ohio State took first place, with seven runners in the top ten and three finishing in the top five.
These athletes all have a fantastic growth mindset to take each challenge as it comes and always seek improvement. The next event for Oakland cross country is on Friday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. at Western Michigan.