Men Earn First Bid to NCAA Championships since 2006
11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 14, 2009
Complete Results
Men's Team Results | Individual Men Results
Women's Team Results | Individual Women Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Michigan State cross country team concluded action at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, Nov. 14, on the campus of Indiana University. Junior Emily MacLeod (Loveland, Ohio) recorded the Spartans' second-consecutive first-place finish with her time of 20:42.70. MacLeod becomes just the fourth Spartan all-time to place first at the NCAA Regionals.
"Emily just followed the race plan," said director of cross country and track & field Walt Drenth. "We talked about her winning and she thought she could win from the beginning. The course was little hard today because of the warm weather. I told her that if she could run the last few kilometers well, she would win the race. When she got to the top of the last hill I didn't even watch the end of the race, because once I saw that she had the proper posture and still had some kick, I knew she was going to win it."
For the men, junior Patrick Grosskopf (Corunna, Mich.) recorded the best individual finish for a male runner since 1995, when Chris Lett also placed fifth at the regional. The men also recorded its best team finish all-time at an NCAA Regional, with its second-place finish. As a team, the men became automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships on Monday, Nov. 23, hosted by Indiana State University, with its finish at the regional. This will mark the team's first NCAA Championships appearance since 2006, and 39th appearance all-time as a team.
"I knew the men had the talent to make nationals, and today we ran extremely well," added Drenth. "They followed the race plan from the very start and never wavered even when it got tough. They just kept running by people throughout the whole race. I just wanted them to run a race and to do as they planned. It feels great, and its something they have definitely earned. I really felt they grew up as a program today."
Placing 19th overall for the men, and second on the team, was junior Spencer Beatty (Harbor Spring, Mich.), recording a time of 31:31.98. Sophomore Josh McAlary (Jackson, Mich.) was the third Spartan to finish, placing 20th with a time of 31:34.13.
Sophomore Isaiah VanDoorne (Grant, Mich.) and freshman Ben Miller (Brooklyn, Mich.) rounded out the top-five finishers for the men, posting times of 32:07.43 (37th) and 32:23.74 (47th), respectively.
Jeff See from Ohio State took home first-place honors with a time of 31:03.16. Wisconsin finished first a team with its score of 62 points.
For the women, finishing 11th was junior Carlie Green (Milford, Mich.) with her time of 21:26.06. Sophomore Rebekah Smeltzer (Monroe, Mich.) finished third for the women with her time of 21:42.78, 23rd overall. Sophomore Tiffany Abrahamian (Rochester, Mich.) placed 31st overall with her time of 21:58.34 while freshman Kristen Smith (Clarkston, Mich.) rounds out the women with her time of 22:24.55.
"I think the women ran well today," noted Drenth. "The Great Lakes Region is one of the tops in the nation, and I still think we have a shot to earn a bid to the NCAA Championships."
The Notre Dame women finished first as a team with a score of 94 points.
The women, who finished fifth as a team, will have to wait until Sunday, Nov. 15, to see if they will receive an at-large bid for its 11th-consecutive NCAA appearance. Selections will be announced 7 p.m. and can be found at NCAA.com.
Earning All-Region honors for the men was Grosskopf, Beatty and McAlary, while MacLeod, Green and Smeltzer are recognized for the women.
The Spartans will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 23, when they travel to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Races are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. and will be shown live on Versus.
Players Mentioned
