Former Spartan All-American Gerald Young Passes Away

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Former Michigan State cross country All-American Gerald Young has passed away. He was 79.

Young, who was a two-time Spartan All-American in cross country, passed away on Friday, April 3. He was a pioneer in the sport of cross country at Michigan State as both a Big Ten and national champion.

He was an All-American on Michigan State's National Championship team in 1959. Young went on to capture All-American honors again in 1960. Young never finished out of the top 20 in the NCAA championship, earning 11th in 1959, fourth in 1960 and 18th in 1961.

In 1960, he became one of just three Michigan State men to win an individual Big Ten cross country championship with a time of 19:35.3. He joined Henry Kennedy in 1955 and 1956, and Crawford Kennedy in 1959 as Big Ten individual champions. Young also finished second in 1961 and was fifth in 1959.

Young also had great success in track and field, capturing a pair of Big Ten titles. He earned gold medals in the two-mile run in 1961 (indoor) and 1962 (outdoor).

After his Spartan career was completed, Young went on to coach at Farmington High School for 26 years, where he also taught history. His teams earned 13 league and four regional championships. Along with his success at Farmington High, Young guided a number of other local runners. He was a also a mentor to future MSU athletes, including Harold Rutila, John Anderson, Mike Foley, Kirk Armstrong and Paul Johnson.

Young regularly traveled with family and friends and volunteered at a local senior living facility. He also still followed his Michigan State Spartans.

A native of Highland Park, Michigan, he was a two-time state champion at Berkley High School (1956-57).

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

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