Walt Drenth Named NCAA Great Lakes Region Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
11/19/2019 1:56:00 PM | Cross Country
The No. 5 Spartans won its first Great Lakes Region title since 2014 on Saturday in Madison.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Walt Drenth was named Great Lakes Region Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA, as voted on by the region's coaches.
Drenth coached the Spartan women's cross country team to a Great Lakes Region title on Saturday in Madison, earning the team an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on Nov. 23.
Earlier this month, Drenth was also named Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, after the Spartans earned their seventh Big Ten title in program history and fifth title in the past 10 seasons.
This is the 19th-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships for the Spartan women, as they have earned a bid every season since 2001.
At the NCAA Regionals on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, all five scoring runners placed in the top-19 to lead the Spartans to its first Great Lakes Regional title since 2014.
Michigan State had five runners earn All-Region honors on the women's side, including senior Annie Fuller (2nd – 20:01.1), sophomore Jenna Magness (7th – 20:25.7), senior Lynsie Gram (8th – 20:30.6), senior Jeralyn Poe (13th – 20:44.8) and junior Sarah Kettel (19th – 20:51.6). Fuller, Magness, Gram and Kettel all turned in personal-best times.
Michigan State moved into the top-five in the nation for the first time since the 2015 season, following the first-place finish at Regionals. The Spartans moved up one spot to No. 5 in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll.
Junior Morgan Beadlescomb also earned All-Region honors on the men's side after a sixth place finish in the 10k, with a personal-best time of 30:16.2. Beadlescomb individually qualified for the NCAA Championships.
UP NEXT: Michigan State women's cross country and Beadlescomb will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 23 for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Drenth coached the Spartan women's cross country team to a Great Lakes Region title on Saturday in Madison, earning the team an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on Nov. 23.
Earlier this month, Drenth was also named Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, after the Spartans earned their seventh Big Ten title in program history and fifth title in the past 10 seasons.
This is the 19th-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships for the Spartan women, as they have earned a bid every season since 2001.
At the NCAA Regionals on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, all five scoring runners placed in the top-19 to lead the Spartans to its first Great Lakes Regional title since 2014.
Michigan State had five runners earn All-Region honors on the women's side, including senior Annie Fuller (2nd – 20:01.1), sophomore Jenna Magness (7th – 20:25.7), senior Lynsie Gram (8th – 20:30.6), senior Jeralyn Poe (13th – 20:44.8) and junior Sarah Kettel (19th – 20:51.6). Fuller, Magness, Gram and Kettel all turned in personal-best times.
Michigan State moved into the top-five in the nation for the first time since the 2015 season, following the first-place finish at Regionals. The Spartans moved up one spot to No. 5 in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll.
Junior Morgan Beadlescomb also earned All-Region honors on the men's side after a sixth place finish in the 10k, with a personal-best time of 30:16.2. Beadlescomb individually qualified for the NCAA Championships.
UP NEXT: Michigan State women's cross country and Beadlescomb will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 23 for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
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