Friday, September 13
East Lansing, Mich.
11:00 AM / 11:30 AM
Michigan State University
vs
Auto Owners/Playmakers Spartan Invitational
Spartan Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Race to First-Place Finishes at Spartan Invitational
9/13/2019 3:41:00 PM | Cross Country
Michigan State swept both the men's 8K race and women's 6K race on Friday morning.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jeralyn Poe, India Johnson and India Fuller crossed the finish line together on the women's side, while Morgan Beadlescomb broke the tape on the men's side, leading Michigan State men's and women's cross country to a first-place sweep at the 39th annual Auto-Owners Spartan Invitational on Friday morning.
The weather held off for a majority of the women's race, before the rain began and lasted throughout most of the men's race. However, the rain could not bring down the excitement or energy from Forest Akers East Golf Course.
"It's a great event; we have to thank a lot of people," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth said. "Start with Playmakers staff and Andy Marsh specifically and all the work and time he puts in to getting this right. I thank Elyse (Packard) for her efforts as the event manager from the university side. Then my staff. There's a lot of people that put a lot of hours into this, and it would not exist without them. When you see something like this with 10,000 to 20,000 people running around, it's really pretty exciting. It's a great environment because most kids in cross country don't get to see this kind of environment, so it's special."
The Spartans defended their home territory and swept the Spartan Invitational, on the women's and men's side. The Spartan women ran to a first-place finish with 16 points and the men followed, tallying 48 points.
The Spartan women were led by Poe, Johnson and Fuller who broke the tape and crossed the finish line together. Poe was the official first-place finisher, clocking in at 21:12.5, with Johnson and Fuller officially crossing at 21:12.6 for second and third place, respectively.
"They felt it was a nice moment just to be able to run together," Drenth said. "I think that most of the time races dictate that you've got to take some chances individually. Within the context of the team, I think they were excited. I think it was less about the three than probably the seven to 10 kids that were really close to each other and thought, okay, we might have something pretty special."
Nine out of the first 10 women's finishers were Spartan runners, with two running unattached. The Spartan women were able to pace each other throughout the race, leading to a cumulative group effort to get the first-place finish.
Jenna Magness (fourth – 21:24.1), Maggie Farrell (sixth - 21:30.7), Makayla Perez (eighth – 21:39.2) and Lindsey Rudden (ninth – 21:41.9) rounded out the top 10 on the women's side for Michigan State.
The Spartan men also finished in first place in the 8K with 48 points, led by Beadlescomb who finished first in the men's 8K race, covering the course in 24:24.9.
"(Morgan) has really grown as a leader and his athleticism is continuing to improve," Drenth said. "He's going to be special. We redshirted him last year with the idea that these last two years could really be something. I thought what we saw last spring was just a glimmer of how good he's going to be. Today was something; not many people run much faster than that on this course – the conditions are not great for running fast."
Down the stretch, Beadlescomb and Nathan Martin, an unattached runner, were shoulder-to-shoulder, before Beadlescomb was able to push past in the final few meters. Beadlescomb recorded the fastest time in the 8K by a Spartan since Caleb Rhynard ran it in 24:10 in 2013.
Matthew Thomas was the next Spartan across the line, clocking in at 25:08.3 for fifth place, improving on his time of 25:15.4 in 2018. Fraser Wilson rounded out the MSU runners in the top 10, placing eighth with a time of 25:17.4.
Ty Buckley (21st – 25:38.8), Winter Romeyn (27th – 25:45.6) and Zac Wright-Fisher (32nd – 25:51.4) rounded out the top times for MSU.
Notes: Running unattached, Noelle Adriaens finished sixth with a time of 21:28.5 and Lauren Cleary finished tenth, clocking in at 21:48.5. On the men's side, Jeremy Kloss ran unattached and finished 16th with a time of 25:31.2.
UP NEXT: The Spartans head to Centerville, Michigan, for the Glen Oaks Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 21.
The weather held off for a majority of the women's race, before the rain began and lasted throughout most of the men's race. However, the rain could not bring down the excitement or energy from Forest Akers East Golf Course.
"It's a great event; we have to thank a lot of people," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth said. "Start with Playmakers staff and Andy Marsh specifically and all the work and time he puts in to getting this right. I thank Elyse (Packard) for her efforts as the event manager from the university side. Then my staff. There's a lot of people that put a lot of hours into this, and it would not exist without them. When you see something like this with 10,000 to 20,000 people running around, it's really pretty exciting. It's a great environment because most kids in cross country don't get to see this kind of environment, so it's special."
The Spartans defended their home territory and swept the Spartan Invitational, on the women's and men's side. The Spartan women ran to a first-place finish with 16 points and the men followed, tallying 48 points.
The Spartan women were led by Poe, Johnson and Fuller who broke the tape and crossed the finish line together. Poe was the official first-place finisher, clocking in at 21:12.5, with Johnson and Fuller officially crossing at 21:12.6 for second and third place, respectively.
"They felt it was a nice moment just to be able to run together," Drenth said. "I think that most of the time races dictate that you've got to take some chances individually. Within the context of the team, I think they were excited. I think it was less about the three than probably the seven to 10 kids that were really close to each other and thought, okay, we might have something pretty special."
Nine out of the first 10 women's finishers were Spartan runners, with two running unattached. The Spartan women were able to pace each other throughout the race, leading to a cumulative group effort to get the first-place finish.
Jenna Magness (fourth – 21:24.1), Maggie Farrell (sixth - 21:30.7), Makayla Perez (eighth – 21:39.2) and Lindsey Rudden (ninth – 21:41.9) rounded out the top 10 on the women's side for Michigan State.
The Spartan men also finished in first place in the 8K with 48 points, led by Beadlescomb who finished first in the men's 8K race, covering the course in 24:24.9.
"(Morgan) has really grown as a leader and his athleticism is continuing to improve," Drenth said. "He's going to be special. We redshirted him last year with the idea that these last two years could really be something. I thought what we saw last spring was just a glimmer of how good he's going to be. Today was something; not many people run much faster than that on this course – the conditions are not great for running fast."
Down the stretch, Beadlescomb and Nathan Martin, an unattached runner, were shoulder-to-shoulder, before Beadlescomb was able to push past in the final few meters. Beadlescomb recorded the fastest time in the 8K by a Spartan since Caleb Rhynard ran it in 24:10 in 2013.
Matthew Thomas was the next Spartan across the line, clocking in at 25:08.3 for fifth place, improving on his time of 25:15.4 in 2018. Fraser Wilson rounded out the MSU runners in the top 10, placing eighth with a time of 25:17.4.
Ty Buckley (21st – 25:38.8), Winter Romeyn (27th – 25:45.6) and Zac Wright-Fisher (32nd – 25:51.4) rounded out the top times for MSU.
Notes: Running unattached, Noelle Adriaens finished sixth with a time of 21:28.5 and Lauren Cleary finished tenth, clocking in at 21:48.5. On the men's side, Jeremy Kloss ran unattached and finished 16th with a time of 25:31.2.
UP NEXT: The Spartans head to Centerville, Michigan, for the Glen Oaks Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 21.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Competitive Drive | Spartans All-Access
Wednesday, October 09
Spartans All-Access | Setting the Tone
Thursday, August 15
Spartans All-Access: Lauren Freeland
Wednesday, November 15
Spartans All-Access: 2023 XC Big Tens
Tuesday, October 31