Cross Country Starts Season With Strong Showing at Jeff Drenth Memorial

Friday, August 31

Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

9:00 am

Michigan State University

Jeff Drenth Memorial

Cross Country Starts Season With Strong Showing at Jeff Drenth Memorial

8/31/2018 2:57:00 PM | Cross Country

The women's team took first place, while the men finished second.

Mount Pleasant, Mich. -- Michigan State men and women's cross country teams got their season underway Friday at the 33rd annual Jeff Drenth Memorial hosted by Central Michigan University.

FINAL RESULTS: Men | Women

With a chance to highlight young runners on both sides, the Spartan women took first place with 29 points, while the men finished second (35) in the 5k race on Pleasant Hills Golf Course.

"I wanted to see us be patient and run well late," MSU Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth said. "I was looking to see how people would respond with a little different intensity."

Junior Carlyn Arteaga came in second place overall on the women's side with a time of 17:58.86, followed closely by redshirt-junior Annie Fuller, who finished third (18:01.21) in her first race since undergoing meniscus surgery last year. Senior Bailey Johnson came in eighth place with a time of 18:18.14.

"The depth of our women's team is remarkable when you think about winning a race like this," Drenth said. "We probably held out arguably our top 12, and that doesn't mean Carlyn won't get in there and race with us this year, but I thought we did a really nice job. There were a few of us that really followed the direction of being patient and running well late."

The men's race was tightly contested, featuring a large pack of runners behind the leader. Sophomore Nicholas Hirschenberger turned in the top time for MSU at 15:39.11, good enough for eighth place overall, part of a pack just seven seconds behind second place finisher Luke Anderson of Central Michigan. Freshman Ty Buckley and sophomore Lance Rambo came in 10th and 11th place, turning in times of 15:40.88 and 15:41.69, respectively.

"We challenged Nick (Hirschenberger), Ty Buckley and Lance Rambo to have good summers and I thought they did a really nice job coming out here," Drenth said. "They've made an enormous amount of progress. They were faster this year than they were last year and this was a muddy, slow course today. We want to see them embrace the work and I was pleased with that today.

Michigan State's top returners didn't compete in Friday's opening race, giving younger athletes a chance to get into their race routines.

The Jeff Drenth Memorial is named after the late Jeff Drenth, brother to MSU's Director of Cross Country and Track & Field. Jeff, who passed away while training in 1986, is a member of the Central Michigan University Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame. Coach Drenth had a hand in creating the annual event to honor his brother.

"Some of his teammates, people I coached, and mutual friends we have always come back for it because it means something to them," Drenth said. "We're able to sustain his memory and enthusiasm for the sport here. I'm proud to be associated with the race, proud to have been part of starting the race, and in fact it was out here we started it, so it's a cool experience."

Hillsdale's Joseph Humes won the men's race in 15:13.44, while Megan O'Neil of Central Michigan took first on the women's side, finishing at 17:44.81