MSU Cross Country Hosts 39th Annual Spartan Invitational on Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State cross country hosts the 39^th annual Auto-Owners Spartan Invitational sponsored by Playmakers on Friday, Sept. 13 at Forest Akers East Golf Course. The women's collegiate 6,000 meter race is set to begin at 11 a.m., with the men's collegiate 8,000 meter race following at 11:30 a.m.

Visit the 2019 Spartan Invite Meet Central site here.

The schedule for the Spartan Invitational has been altered due to the potential for inclement weather tomorrow afternoon. The collegiate races are set to continue as scheduled, but the middle school and JV races have been cancelled. Please check the updated schedule for more information.

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The Spartan Invitational marks the first race this season where the men will run a full 8K race and the women will run a longer 6K race, after the Jeff Drenth Memorial featured 5k races on both sides.

"Everything that you could perceive as a challenge is really an opportunity," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth said. "For one thing, we go to a longer distance for both groups, learning to embrace those a little bit different distances. We're hoping that our young athletes that are going to that distance for the first time don't adjust their approach because they've done well in training and it seems like they're ready for the different distance."

Michigan State men's and women's cross country began the 2019 season at the 34^th annual Jeff Drenth Memorial in Mount Pleasant, Michigan on Aug. 30. MSU swept both the men's and women's races, with the men placing first with 25 points and the women also placing first with 21 points.

The first race of the season gave many younger runners an opportunity to experience a collegiate race, with the Spartan Invitational providing another chance for a lot of runners to gain valuable experience early in the season in preparation for championship season in November.

"We're trying to establish patterns mostly, because you get into a championship and if you've done things right through the course of the season and you've stayed relatively rigid to a plan, it takes a little bit of the stress off," Drenth said. "Some of this is designed for the end of the year, so it becomes part of their habit, then they're just going to their next objective through the course of preparation right up to the starting line."

The Spartan women are ranked 12th in the initial USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Cross Country Coaches' Poll, following an 11th-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. The first week of the National Coaches' Poll will be announced on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

This will be the team's only home race of the season, giving the runners an opportunity to run on the team's home turf in front of family and friends in East Lansing.

"I think anytime you get to compete at home; it's a great opportunity," Drenth said. "It's not like we have a home course advantage, but certainly being able to get out and race in front of your own group and keep the day simple is fun. I also think for us it's probably more valuable that we're going to put nearly everyone in so we'll see the dynamic change quite a bit in terms of having nearly everybody that we think is potentially able to help us, racing."

The meet features 36 different college teams competing, along with many high school from around the state of Michigan. Including the collegiate races, there will be a total of 10 races at Forest Akers East Golf Course on Friday.

MSU Cross Country Hosts 39th Annual Spartan Invitational on Friday

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