COLUMBUS, Ohio – Michigan State women's cross country raced to a Big Ten Championship title on Sunday morning at the Ohio State University Golf Club, with five runners placing in the top-16.
This is the seventh Big Ten title for the Spartans in program history and first title since 2014.
"Throughout the group, our depth was good and their expectations are high; I'm really proud of them," Director of Cross Country and Track and Field
Walt Drenth said. "This is a good growth experience for everybody, and I expect we'll look for ways to be better in the next couple of weeks."
The No. 9-ranked Spartans tallied 56 points in the women's 6k, surpassing both No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 8 Michigan. The Badgers placed second with 62 points, while the Wolverines came in third with 88 points.
The depth of the Spartan women's team, which has been evident all season, was on display today on the conference's biggest stage, with five runners placing in the top-16. Senior
Annie Fuller was the top-finisher for the women with a third place finish, clocking in at 20:16.1, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Senior
Jeralyn Poe and junior
India Johnson, who have been running with Fuller all season, captured second-team All-Big Ten honors for the Spartans. Poe turned in a time of 20:29.6 to finish in eighth place, while Johnson was not far behind, placing 14
th with a time of 20:40.1.
Senior
Lynsie Gram and sophomore
Jenna Magness crossed the line within a second of each other and only strides behind Johnson, to place 15
th and 16
th, respectively. Gram, who was running in only her second race of the season, posted a new career-best time of 20:44.4 for 15
th, while Magness also posted a career-best time of 20:45.2 for a 16
th place finish.
Juniors
Lindsey Rudden (33
rd – 21:12.6),
Sarah Kettel (36
th – 21:13.9) and
Maggie Farrell (37
th – 21:14.9) rounded out the Spartan women on the course. Freshman
Noelle Adriaens suffered an injury on the course and did not finish.
"They had to be disciplined, they had to run well late, they had to act like teammates the entire time," Drenth said. "It's so powerful when there's a bunch of them together because you feel that energy. They moved well, they ran the course smartly and they were vicious competitors all the way to the end."
The Spartan men finished seventh with 176 points, led by junior
Morgan Beadlescomb, who captured a third place finish with a time of 24:01.8. Freshman
Abdi Ahmed turned in the next best time for MSU, clocking in at 24:50.8.
Freshman
Fraser Wilson (24:53.7), sophomore
John Petruno (24:57.8), senior
Matthew Thomas (25:02.8) and sophomore
Steven Stine (25:10.6) turned in scores for the Spartans.
Members of the Michigan State cross country and track and field program that were not competing made the trip to Columbus to support their teammates.
"The energy from that group was amazing; it has to start from the coaching staff," Drenth said. "The involvement of all the coaches to get here, to be part of this and to see the championship and get the kids here. I honestly got a little choked up when I first started hearing the screams because not only did they come to watch, they came to be a part of this. It was really a great experience for them and culture that I think will help our entire track and field program."
A highlight package of Sunday's Big Ten Championships will be televised on BTN and the FOX Sports app at 7 p.m. (ET) Monday, with replays at 9:30 p.m. (ET) Monday, midnight and 5 p.m. (ET) Tuesday and 11 a.m. (ET) Wednesday.
UP NEXT: Michigan State men's and women's cross country will return to the course on Friday, Nov. 15 in Madison, Wisconsin for the 2019 NCAA Great Lakes Regional on the Zimmer Championship Course.
