Spartans Announce Additions to Cross Country Staff
2/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Feb. 9, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's director of track & field and cross country Walt Drenth has announced today (Feb. 9) the addition of Lena Bettis as assistant coach for sprints and jumps, and former Spartan All-American Lisa Senakiewich as assistant track & field and cross country coach and the appointment of former Spartan Andy Marsh as assistant to the head coach.
"My objective has always been to bring in people who had great experience in this sport," said director of track & field and cross country Walt Drenth. "In bringing in all three (Lena Bettis, Andy Marsh and Lisa Senakiewich), we really added in each category someone with a lot of passion, really interested and really good at what they do."
Bettis arrives in East Lansing after spending the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant at her alma mater Penn State. The Riverside, Calif., native was a four year letterwinner and a two-time NCAA Regional qualifier for the Nittany Lions prior to her assignment as an assistant. Bettis also was a member of the school-record sprint medley relay squad which posted a time of 3:52.25 in 2007 at the Penn State Relays. In her final year of eligibility, Bettis posted a career-best leap of 13.04m in the triple jump at the 2008 Big Ten Championships, aiding in the Nittany Lions' first of three-straight Big Ten Outdoor team titles. Over the course of her time at Penn State, the Nittany Lions won three Big Ten Outdoor team championships, a Big Ten Indoor championship and a cross country championship. On the national stage, PSU finished fourth at the 2010 NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships. Bettis also worked with Clarence Smith who won both the back-to-back Big Ten Indoor triple jump titles in 2008 and 2009, to go along with an outdoor victory in 2009.
"Coach Bettis comes to us with great experience as an athlete from Penn State. She was a very competitive jumper in the conference and at the national level. She is going to help Coach Gillon and Coach Bostwick with the sprints and the jumps. Her extensive background in the jumps really made a difference because that area of expertise, particularly when we go to the indoor championships with a split program, is important for the betterment of our athletes. Her experience as a high-level athlete has brought a lot to the table in terms of an energy standpoint. She has done a wonderful job for us in the short time that we have had her, and we are really excited about her addition," Drenth said.
Under the tutelage of Bettis at Penn State, Tanaya Lloyd reached the 40-foot barrier for the first time in her career with a leap of 40-0 (12.19) to place ninth at the Tyson Invitational in 2010. Lloyd also qualified for the NCAA First Round as a sophomore in the triple jump and posted a leap of 12.40m for 26th overall. Lloyd's personal-best mark of 12.46m was recorded at the Penn State Open in 2010. At both the 2010 Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Lloyd recorded sixth-place finishes at both competitions to score for the team's point total.
Bettis also aided in the development of Bianca Fung into a two-time NCAA national qualifier in the long jump. Fung qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time in her career in 2009. Fung posted a personal-best mark of 6.36m in the long jump at the 2009 NCAA Regional Championships, good enough for third-place overall. She would then go on to place 21st at NCAAs. In 2010, Fung continued her progress as she once again qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a wind-aided leap of 6.30m at the NCAA First Round. Fung proceeded to place 23rd at the NCAA Championships with a leap of 5.72m in her second-consecutive appearance at the championships.
Bettis graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.
Marsh returns for his second stint on the MSU staff after previously serving as a graduate assistant from 2005 to 2007. Marsh is a four year letterwinner for the Green and White for both the cross country and track & field teams. Marsh brings with him a wealth of administrative experience after serving as the assistant athletic director at Seabury Hall in Makawao, Hawaii. At Seabury, Marsh assisted in the management of all home athletic event operations. He was also the co-director of an after school athletic development program for offseason athletes to gain strength, speed and endurance.
"Andy is coming in to help us in numerous categories. He is going to help us with operations in terms of really helping with meet management. He brings with him a skill set that is very broad. He has run most of our meets the past few years and has helped with the cross country and high school meets. Now we are able to bring him formally to help with everything. He will also create a bit of continuity as when people call the office, he is going to be around and field the calls. He will also be able to help us better plan our major events, which are very important to us into the evolution of our program," said Drenth.
During Marsh's previous stint with the Spartans, he assisted with the day-to-day team operations by helping arrange team travel as well as recruiting. Marsh was also instrumental in the organization of both the Spartan Cross Country Invitational and the Spartan Track & Field Invitational each year. He has served as the meet director for both invitationals and has helped them both grow and prosper over the past five years.
As a Spartan student-athlete, Marsh was a three-time NCAA All-Region honoree (2001-02, 2004) as well as an All-Big Ten selection in 2001 in cross country. The two-time captain of both the cross country and track & field teams also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2001 and 2002. In 2002, Marsh narrowly missed All-America honors as he was the top male finisher for MSU at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a time of 30:40.1 for 41st overall. Marsh was named MSU's most improved runner following both the 2001 and 2002 seasons at the team banquet.
Marsh obtained his bachelor's degree in kinesiology with an emphasis on health promotions and exercise leadership from MSU in 2005, and his master's degree in kinesiology with emphasis on sports administration and coaching education in 2007.
Senakiewich joined the Spartans prior to their historic cross country season in the fall of 2010. With the added guidance of Senakiewich, MSU captured its first team Big Ten Championships crown on the women's side since 2001. For the second-consecutive season, Emily MacLeod captured NCAA Great Lakes Region Athlete of the Year honors, going along with her Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors following the 2010 Big Ten Championships. In both races, MacLeod finished tops in the race to lead the Green and White to both the Big Ten and NCAA Regional Championships. MacLeod went on to become the 16th All-American in program history as she finished 37th overall at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
"Lisa joined us in the fall as a planned replacement for Coach McGreevy. When she took over, we kind of understood that Coach McGreevy would be leaving for the FBI and Coach Senakiewich would step in with a role in helping me with the distance runners and with recruiting. She has done a wonderful job and works tirelessly. She is already the first female representative for men's cross country in the Great Lakes Region, which is quite an honor," Drenth said.
In her first year out of college, Senakiewich served as an assistant coach at Purdue. She helped then-junior Caden Shields serve as Purdue's lone representative at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships where he turned in a time of 31:13.8 for 132nd. Shields was the top male Boilermaker at all six of the competitions he ran in over the course of the fall. On the women's side, Camille Buscomb was the top individual runner at the Big Ten Championships for Purdue when she narrowly missed All-Big Ten honors, placing 17th with a time of 21:17.0, a mark which ranks sixth all time in the Purdue record books.
On the track, Senakiewich played an instrumental role in the development of Sarah Klaczynski in the 3,000m steeplechase. Klaczynski was the lone distance representative for the Boilermakers at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Klaczynski qualified for the finals in Eugene, Ore., after turning in a school-record time of 10:11.17 in her preliminary race. Klaczynski became just the second NCAA qualifier for the Boilermakers in the women's steeplechase since 2004. Klaczysnki, who entered her final campaign having never placed at a conference meet or participated in a national meet, graduated a Big Ten Championship medalist and NCAA Championship finals qualifier in the steeplechase.
As a Spartan, Senakiewich earned a pair of All-America awards in 2008-09, earning fourth-place in the 5,000-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 16:28.88, and taking 27th place overall at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships, completing the 6K course in 20:33.40. She led the Spartans to a 20th-place team showing at the outdoor track and field national championships and an 11th-place team effort at the cross country national meet. She also qualified for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the one-mile run with a season-best time of 4:40.91. She completed her collegiate career with Michigan State's records in the one-mile run, the 1,500-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay.
Senakiewich received her bachelor's degree from MSU in English with a focus in general comparative literature, and was a member of the Spartan's Dean's List for all eight semesters of college.
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