Spartan Track & Field Set for Big Ten Indoor Championships

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State track and field begins the postseason this weekend, competing at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29. The Championships will be held at the SPIRE Indoor Track Facility in Geneva, Ohio.

"I think we just have to see growth from everywhere. I think we have to be consistent with the places we've done well and see some growth," Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Walt Drenth said. "Certainly the sprints, the women's throwers have an opportunity to see some bright spots; if they just go in and are excited to compete, I think they can do well. I think Jerimiah is ready for a breakthrough and our pole vaulters are ready to go."

Action begins at 10:50 a.m. on Friday with the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles and continues throughout the day with various trials and finals in the field and on the track. Day one of the Big Ten Championships will conclude with the men's and women's distance medley relay finals at 6:30 p.m.

The second day of competition will commence at 11 a.m. with the women's high jump and shot put in the field. Finals of various running and field events continue throughout the afternoon, ending with the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays at 4:20 p.m. The winners of each event will be crowned Big Ten Champions.

// Overview of Big Ten Competitors //
Senior Asya Reynolds, the reigning Big Ten outdoor champion in the heptathlon, will compete in the pentathlon this weekend in Geneva. Reynolds broke the school record in the pentathlon that she set two seasons ago in 2018 at the Power Five Invitational in Ann Arbor on Jan. 31, tallying 4,079 points.

Freshman Kendel Hammock (60-meter hurdles) will look to continue the success of his rookie season. Hammock set a PR at the Music City Challenge with a time of 8.00. Junior Brooke Bogan has also had a successful season in the 60-meter dash, setting a PR of 7.48 earlier in the season.

Jerimiah Evans, Rebecca Mammel and Niki Sargent will lead the Spartan throwers this weekend, as all three have posted personal-best marks this season.

Annie Fuller, Lindsey Rudden, Karrigan Smith and Jeralyn Poe have been consistent in the distance events on the women's side, while junior Morgan Beadlescomb and freshman John Petruno have continued to improve on the men's side.

"They just have to be the best versions of themselves. Hopefully it's given them the confidence to be engaged in arguably the best distance conference in the country. The depth of it, top to bottom, you look at every event; the Big Ten is super well represented at the National level," Drenth said. "This is a fun test and it will be a good growth opportunity for a lot of the men and women in distance events."

// Last Time Out //
Last time out, the Spartans had impressive performances at the GVSU Big Meet, Music City Challenge and the Iowa State Classic to conclude the regular season of the indoor track and field season.

Juniors Morgan Beadlescomb and Lindsey Rudden set new Michigan State school records in their events.
Competing at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 14, Beadlescomb's new personal best of 13:31.50 in the 5,000m also set a facility and meet record. His performance crushed his previous time of 13:47.44 that was set last season at the Raleigh Relays. Beadlescomb is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in the 5,000m.

Rudden set a school record in the 800m at the Music City Challenge on Feb. 15, with a time of 2:04.89. The school record was previously held by teammate senior Dillon McClintock with a time of 2:05.68.

"I don't think our expectations of them have changed; we knew they were good before their performances," Drenth said. "I think our expectation of them is that they're just going to go in, have fun and compete. We have to be prepared for all the variables and just manage what we can manage."

In the field at the GVSU Big Meet, junior Niki Sargent took first in the shot put with a personal best mark of 15.64m. Sargent then placed fifth in the weight throw, putting up a personal-best mark of 18.71m.

// Live Coverage //
The Big Ten Championships will be streamed live on BTN Plus and FloTrack, both with subscription. Live results will be provided by Lightning Timing and will be available on msuspartans.com. Recaps of Michigan State's performances and results will be posted at msuspartans.com after the conclusion of competition each day.

// Up Next //
The Spartans continue postseason action at the NCAA Indoor Championships from Friday, March 13 to Saturday, March 14 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Spartan Track & Field Set for Big Ten Indoor Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Morgan Beadlescomb

Brooke Bogan

Jerimiah Evans

Kendel Hammock

Rebecca Mammel

Dillon McClintock

John Petruno

Jeralyn Poe

Asya Reynolds

Lindsey Rudden

Niki Sargent

Karrigan Smith