Spartan Cross Country to Compete at NCAA Championships on Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's cross country and junior Morgan Beadlescomb close out the season Saturday Nov. 23, at the NCAA Championships on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Beadlescomb will compete as an individual on the men's side after earning an individual bid to the NCAA Championships.

The women's 6k championship race begins at 11:15 a.m. and will be followed by the men's 10k championship race at 12:15 p.m.

Last time out, the No. 5 Spartans captured an automatic bid to the championship race after earning the Great Lakes Region title in Madison, Wisconsin. Michigan State tallied 49 points, while placing all five scoring runners in the top-19 to earn the team's 19^th-consecutive NCAA Championships berth.

"We're not going to change who we've become for a championship event; we're going to continue to trust the things that have worked for us, trust each other and trust our will," Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Walt Drenth said. "Those are the things that they have to be thinking through. They've been consistent all year in looking for ways to grow and their expectations have grown. We're just going to go be the tough human beings that they've learned to become."

Senior Annie Fuller led the way for the Spartans, placing second with a personal-best time of 20:01.1. Junior Jenna Magness and senior Lynsie Gram turned in a 7-8 punch, both with personal-bests. Senior Jeralyn Poe and junior Sarah Kettel, also with a personal-best, closed out MSU's scoring runners in the top-19.

The women's field features 31 teams, including a record-tying eight Big Ten teams. MSU is joined by regional champions No. 21 Illinois (Midwest) and No. 16 Penn State (Mid-Atlantic). Also joining the Spartans from the Big Ten are No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 26 Indiana and No. 27 Minnesota.

No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 BYU and No. 4 Washington round out the top-5 in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll.

Following the Great Lakes Regional, Michigan State moved up one spot to number five for the first time since the 2015 season.

On the men's side, Beadlescomb earned an individual bid to the NCAA Championships following a sixth-place finish at regionals. In the first 10k race of the season, the junior had a personal-best time while clocking in at 30:16.2.

"Morgan's had a good season and his track and field season – the way it culminated last year. I think he's taken those experiences from the nationals, and it will suit him well this weekend," Drenth said. "He's a fearless competitor as well; he's got great racing instincts. It's an opportunity for him at the national stage to really start to get more and more comfortable. I think he has the skill set to be really dangerous as he moves forward.

Beadlescomb has placed in the top-10 in every race that he's competed in this season, on his way to earning first-team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors.

Many of the runners are familiar with the LaVern Gibson Championship Course, as it served as the site of the Great Lakes Regional in 2018 and the NCAA Championships in 2016.

"Every time when you get into an environment like this and the more times you get into it, the more things slow down around you and it's easier to make decisions when the world around you might be feeling like chaos and you can just refine it to the things you can manage," Drenth said. "I think all those experiences help them lead into this. They all have had favorable experiences on this course and in this environment. I'm expecting them to have some fun this weekend."

Both races will be streamed live on FloTrack, with live results being posted by PT Timing. Results will also be posted on msuspartans.com following the conclusion of the races.

Spartan Cross Country to Compete at NCAA Championships on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Morgan Beadlescomb

Annie Fuller

Lynsie Gram

Sarah Kettel

Jenna Magness

Jeralyn Poe