Northwest Wayne News

The Wayne State University men's cross country team started its 2025 season with a victory at the Hillsdale Cross Country Open, held in Hillsdale, Michigan, on Friday evening. The Warriors finished first among three teams by accumulating 35 points. Host team Hillsdale Chargers placed second with 40 points, while Spring Arbor took third with 49 points.

Wayne State had three runners finish among the top six scorers and eight athletes within the top 17 overall. Glen Davis led the team with a second-place finish overall and was also second in team scoring, completing the race in 20:23.1. Jared Platt followed in fourth place at 20:29.6, and Sean Pettis secured seventh place with a time of 20:50.9.

Other notable performances for Wayne State included Ty Nagy finishing twelfth (21:25.5), Andrew Yax fourteenth (21:27.0), Ethan Muraszewski fifteenth (21:31.8), Griffin Conway sixteenth (21:33.0), and James Latstetter seventeenth (21:34.1). Several other team members contributed to the overall results.

Head coach Grant Lofdahl commented on the team's performance following the meet. "We wanted to bust the rust and get ready for the big 8K races coming up, so this 4-miler was a nice way to open the season for the guys. Hillsdale's course is very tough and will help prepare us for the Wisconsin Parkside course later on, and getting a win is always a good way to start your season."

He also praised individual efforts from his athletes during their opening event of the year. "Glen (Davis) had an auspicious Warrior debut and looked strong, and Jared (Platt) moved up very well in the second half of the race along with Sean (Pettis). That was our race plan today, and our pack did a good job of executing it led by Ty (Nagy), Andrew (Yax), and Ethan (Muraszewski)."

Looking ahead to future competitions, Lofdahl identified areas for improvement as his squad prepares for its next meet. "We need to clean some things up and tighten up our gaps between groups, which will be a big goal next week at our home invite."

The Warriors' next competition will take place on Friday, September 12th when they host the Warrior Challenge at Willow Metropark beginning at 5:45 p.m.