Spartans Race With Best at Nuttycombe Invite Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State cross country team will gather with several of the top teams in the country Friday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wisconsin, for the 10th-annual Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.

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In just nine years, the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Presented by Under Armour has established itself as one of the nation's premier collegiate meets, drawing teams from every NCAA region across the nation. MSU has competed in the invitational since 2009, when the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Course opened.

In all, 15 teams ranked in the most recent USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll are running. The No. 15 Spartan women take off on the 6,000 meter course at 11:20 a.m. (ET).

The men's 8,000 meter race begins at 12:00 p.m. (ET), which includes the 21st-ranked Spartans. Nineteen teams ranked in the current coaches' poll will traverse the course.

"Our expectations are to go to the nationals, and being a participant in a race like this gives us a better idea of where we can grow, how we can grow, and what things we can do to adjust," MSU Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth said. "It's a good learning opportunity, but also, we recruit people with the idea we want them to come here and have a national-level experience. We're giving them that glimpse of what it's like at that level."

Last time out, Michigan State cross country hosted the Spartan Invitational Sept. 14. The teams swept the team scores, with the men holding off rival Michigan to take the win.

Redshirt-senior Erin McDonald broke the tape in the 6k women's race with a time of 20:39.6, improving on her second place finish in 2017 by 44 seconds (21:23.9). Sophomore teammate Maggie Farrell crossed the finish line in 20:43.9 to take second place, and senior Amber Way posted a time of 21:30.6 to finish in fourth place.

Redshirt-junior Matthew Thomas turned in a time of 25:15.4 to lead the men's team in the 8k race, trailed closely by redshirt-senior Justine Kiprotich, who came in sixth place (25:17.9). Kiprotich, an NCAA runner-up in the 1,500 meters turned in his best time at the longer cross country distance.

"I'd like to see application of the things we learned two weeks ago," Drenth said. "We've seen some really good practices and people taking steps forward since the Spartan Invitational. I think we're going to keep getting better based on the way we've been practicing."

Live results will be available at the link above and posted at the conclusion of the event to msuspartans.com. FloTrack will stream the invitational, but a FloTrack Pro account is required.

Players Mentioned

Maggie Farrell

Justine Kiprotich

Erin McDonald

Matthew Thomas

Amber Way

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