Saturday, November 17
Madison, Wis.
Michigan State University
at
NCAA CHampionships
Women's Cross Country Races to 11th at NCAA Championships
11/17/2018 4:00:00 PM | Cross Country
Annie Fuller finished 21st and was named an All-American.
MADISON, Wis. -- Michigan State women's cross country ran to an 11th-place finish Saturday at the NCAA Championships on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, led by 21st-place finish from redshirt-junior Annie Fuller.
Fuller was named an All-American after covering the snowy, frozen 6,000-meter course in 20:20.34. After closing strong at NCAA Regionals, Fuller was able to do that again Saturday, passing several runners of the final 1,500-meters.
Less than a year ago Fuller was recovering from major surgery to her meniscus, and it wasn't known if she was going to be able to run competitively again. Now she finishes the 2018 season as an All-Region and All-American runner.
"Annie's commitment to trying to find out how good she can be has been phenomenal," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth said. "She's been doing everything she can to stay well and fit to be competitive in a race like this. Not only running, but biking four hours a day. She's a special athlete, and I think what she's done this year has been really admirable."
The Spartans totaled 341 points as a team, and had to fight through adversity along the way, finishing just out of the top 10 as Wisconsin (325) came in 10th place.
MSU placed four runners in the top 100, as sophomore Maggie Farrell (20:53.70) was the second across the line, coming in 72nd place. Redshirt-senior Erin McDonald, who has been running with Farrell all season, was forced to drop out of the race midway through with an injury.
"Erin's been solid for us all year, and has been reliable in big meets for us throughout her career," Drenth said. "It was an anomaly for her today, and I look forward to seeing her rebound when we get to the track."
Sophomore India Johnson came in 83rd, finishing with a time of 20:58.43, followed closely by redshirt-junior Jeralyn Poe (21:01.18) who came in 88th. Sophomore Jenna Magness rounded out the scoring for the Spartans, running 21:32.57 for 160th place.
"Our group ran really, really well today, and with everyone but Erin coming back next year that gives us great hope for what we can be in another year," Drenth said. "The character of our kids is outstanding and there are a lot of things to be excited about. This is quite an accomplishment and I'm really proud of them."
Colorado took home the national championship, totaling 65 points, while New Mexico was the runner-up with 103 points. Oregon came in third, tallying 160 points, as Michigan (213) came in fourth and Stanford (232) made up the top five.
Colorado's Dani Jones won the individual title, crossing the finish line with a time of 19:42.8. Weini Kelati of New Mexico (19:45.3) came in second place, while Oregon's Jessica Hull was third, posting a time of 19:50.4.
"I thought India's (Johnson) best meet of the year was today," Drenth said. "It was critical for us to have her run the way she did today. JP (Jeralyn Poe) having her appendix taking out during the season, she did a great job of battling back. Jenna (Magness) was our fifth person and she's been so steady, we can count on the best version of every time she races. She did an outstanding job. Across the board we hit with six out of seven today and, we just needed that seventh to put us over the top."
Fuller was named an All-American after covering the snowy, frozen 6,000-meter course in 20:20.34. After closing strong at NCAA Regionals, Fuller was able to do that again Saturday, passing several runners of the final 1,500-meters.
Less than a year ago Fuller was recovering from major surgery to her meniscus, and it wasn't known if she was going to be able to run competitively again. Now she finishes the 2018 season as an All-Region and All-American runner.
"Annie's commitment to trying to find out how good she can be has been phenomenal," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth said. "She's been doing everything she can to stay well and fit to be competitive in a race like this. Not only running, but biking four hours a day. She's a special athlete, and I think what she's done this year has been really admirable."
The Spartans totaled 341 points as a team, and had to fight through adversity along the way, finishing just out of the top 10 as Wisconsin (325) came in 10th place.
MSU placed four runners in the top 100, as sophomore Maggie Farrell (20:53.70) was the second across the line, coming in 72nd place. Redshirt-senior Erin McDonald, who has been running with Farrell all season, was forced to drop out of the race midway through with an injury.
"Erin's been solid for us all year, and has been reliable in big meets for us throughout her career," Drenth said. "It was an anomaly for her today, and I look forward to seeing her rebound when we get to the track."
Sophomore India Johnson came in 83rd, finishing with a time of 20:58.43, followed closely by redshirt-junior Jeralyn Poe (21:01.18) who came in 88th. Sophomore Jenna Magness rounded out the scoring for the Spartans, running 21:32.57 for 160th place.
"Our group ran really, really well today, and with everyone but Erin coming back next year that gives us great hope for what we can be in another year," Drenth said. "The character of our kids is outstanding and there are a lot of things to be excited about. This is quite an accomplishment and I'm really proud of them."
Colorado took home the national championship, totaling 65 points, while New Mexico was the runner-up with 103 points. Oregon came in third, tallying 160 points, as Michigan (213) came in fourth and Stanford (232) made up the top five.
Colorado's Dani Jones won the individual title, crossing the finish line with a time of 19:42.8. Weini Kelati of New Mexico (19:45.3) came in second place, while Oregon's Jessica Hull was third, posting a time of 19:50.4.
"I thought India's (Johnson) best meet of the year was today," Drenth said. "It was critical for us to have her run the way she did today. JP (Jeralyn Poe) having her appendix taking out during the season, she did a great job of battling back. Jenna (Magness) was our fifth person and she's been so steady, we can count on the best version of every time she races. She did an outstanding job. Across the board we hit with six out of seven today and, we just needed that seventh to put us over the top."
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