Men's Cross Country 6/4/2026 8:26:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Men's Cross Country Adds Three Freshmen For 2026

Mann, Marple and Pietraszkiewicz will join the Warrior this fall.

DETROIT -- Wayne State University head cross country coach Grant Lofdahl, who enters his 10th season leading the Warriors this fall, has added three freshmen to his 2026 men's cross country roster. Becoming Warriors this fall are David Mann (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson), Aiden Marple (DeWitt, Mich.) and Drew Pietraszkiewicz (Shelby Township, Mich. / Utica Eisenhower).

David Mann, 5-8, 138, Fr., Sterling Heights, Mich. / Sterling Heights Stevenson
High School: Will be a 2026 graduate of Sterling Heights Stevenson High School ... was a four-year letterwinner for coach Michael Jenkins ... earned All-Macomb Area Conference (MAC) White Division accolades with an eighth-place finish in 2024 and a runner-up finish as a senior ... received All-County recognition in 2025 after clocking in at a personal-best time of 16:41.2 to place ninth at the Macomb County Championship ... posted a sophomore season best time of 17:58.9 at the Last Chance to Run Fast Invite ... improved by 40 seconds his junior campaign running a season-best time of 17:18.8 at the MHSAA Division 1 regional meet at Clarkston ... recorded a season-best time of 11:48.42 in the 3,200m race at the MHSAA Regional meet as a freshman ... dropped 48 seconds the following year running an 11:00.14 at the 2024 MHSAA Regional meet at Romeo ... ran a 4:31.56 for 1,600m to place third at the 2025 Macomb County Meet of Champions ... took first place in the 3,200m race at the 2026 MAC White Division Meet ... notched a personal-best 1,600m time of 4:23.93 to finish fifth at the 2026 Barnyard Invitational ... served as a team captain in both sports as a senior ... earned Class Valedictorian and AP Scholar with Distinction ... was a three-year All-Macomb County Academic honoree in cross country.

Personal: Full name -- David A. Mann ... born on February 6, 2008, in Sterling Heights, Mich. ... son of David and Dawn Mann ... has two younger brothers, Joseph and Nathaniel, and two younger sisters, Madison and Elizabeth ... plans to major in Biomedical Engineering.

Coach Lofdahl on David Mann:  "We were finished with recruiting when David contacted us, and then I decided we were not quite finished after all. He is an excellent student academically, and a student of the sport as well. I'm glad that he decided to give collegiate running a shot, because he has some real potential."

Aiden Marple, 6-0, 140, Fr., DeWitt, Mich. / DeWitt
High School: Will be a 2026 graduate of DeWitt High School ... earned two letters in cross country for coach Brian Byars ... ran a 2024 season-best time of 17:19.8 at the MHSAA Division 2 regional meet ... posted a 2025 season-best time of 15:59.3 to place 28th at the MHSAA Division 2 state finals meet ... finished sixth at the regional meet as a senior ... placed ninth at the 2025 Greater Lansing Cross Country Championships ... earned All-Capital Area Activities Conference (CAAC) accolades with a sixth-place finish at the CAAC Blue League Meet #2 ... also competed in swimming for the Panthers, and received the squad's most improved award as a junior ... swam a personal-best 24.23 for the 50 free at the 2025 CAAC Blue meet to place 12th ... on the same day, swam a personal-best for 500 free (5:37.67).

Personal: Full name -- Aiden A. Marple ... born on July 30, 2008, in Lansing, Mich. ... son of Andy and Chrissy Marple ... has a younger sister, Olivia ... plans to major in Chemical Engineering.

Coach Lofdahl on Aiden Marple:  "We always like to recruit multi-sport athletes, and Aiden is someone who swam all through high school in addition to running cross country and track the past couple of years. He is still relatively new to long distance running, and his upside is high. When he gets used to our training program, we think he will really take off."

Drew Pietraszkiewicz, 5-7, 125, Fr., Shelby Township, Mich. / Utica Eisenhower
High School: Will be a 2026 graduate of Utica Eisenhower High School ... was a three-year letterwinner for coach Michael Oakes ... qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 state finals after placing 14th at the regional meet at Romeo ... ran a season-best time of 16:22.24 to place fourth at the Dakota Cougars XC Carnival of Races as a senior ... posted a 2024 season-best time of 16:38.37 at the MITCA Meet of Champions ... recorded a 2023 season-best time of 17:54.4 at the Macomb Area Conference (MAC) Championships - All Divisions ... the Eagles ... served as a team captain in cross country as a senior ... competed all four years in track and field ... notched a season-best 3200m time of 10:24.47 as a sophomore at the MHSAA Regional meet at Romeo ... dropped nearly 15 seconds as a junior with a season-best time of 10:09.70 at the Macomb County Meet of Champions ... ran the anchor leg of the MAC White Division Meet 4x800m relay champion quartet ... clocked in at 9:55.86 for 3200m as a senior at the Farmington Invitational ... will graduate with over a 4.00 grade-point average.

Personal: Full name -- Drew M. Pietraszkiewicz ... born on April 25, 2008, in Warren, Mich. ... son of Andrew and Renee Pietraszkiewicz ... has a younger brother, Aaron, and an older sister, Mikayla ... plans to major in Chemistry ... last name is pronounced Petra-skeh-vich.

Coach Lofdahl on Drew Pietraszkiewicz:  "Wayne State has had a great connection with the Eisenhower program over the years, and we're happy to add Drew to the list of Eagles-turned-Warriors. He is a runner who's willing to put in big mileage and do whatever he needs to in order to be successful, and has the work ethic to excel at the longer collegiate racing distances.

The WSU men's cross country squad has finished in the top four at GLIAC's in six of the last seven years a GLIAC Championship has been held (2018-25 except 2020 due to COVID).

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