Monday, March 15
Stillwater, Okla.
All Day
Michigan State University
vs
NCAA Championships
Women’s Cross Country Finishes Fourth in NCAA Championships
3/15/2021 5:43:00 PM | Cross Country
The fourth-place finish is the Spartans’ best finish since winning the title in 2014.
EAST LANSING , Mich. - Michigan State's women's cross country team battled to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships Monday at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
"These women have just been really resilient. We just kept reminding them of them of their character. And the things to keep in mind and how to behave and to translate that to the race, and they all did an amazing job of that. We kept telling them to go with the flow, there are going to be a lot of unknowns. I am just really proud of them. Our leaders on the women's side have been significant, India Johnson and Lynsie Gram, Jenna Magness ... really all of our top seven are leaders in their own rite," Interim Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Lisa Breznau said.
Michigan State tallied 212 points to capture the fourth-place finish. BYU won the title (96 points), while N.C. State (161 points) and Stanford (207 points), finished second and third, respectively. The Spartans were the top finisher in the Big Ten with Minnesota (239) rounding out the top five.
"A lot if this starts with Coach (Walt) Drenth and everything thing he has taught our staff and the student-athletes, he definitely has a place in this team's success 100 percent. You don't get to this place as a team without everything that he did for the program. Now with Coach (Aaron) Simoneau and Max (Benoit) and even the rest of the staff at home, they are part of the holistic view point that creates a real positive energy. We just hope to see both teams keep growing," Breznau said.
Three of the five scoring runners placed in the top-50, leading Michigan State to its best-team finish since capturing the NCAA Championship in 2014. Last season, the Spartan women finished sixth in the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Indiana, tallying tallied 209 points.
The Spartans were once again led by junior Jenna Magness, who finished 16th to give the Spartans 13 points. The junior crossed the finish line with a time of 20:35.0. Magness had a busy weekend, finishing seventh in the 5000m at the NCAA Indoor Championship to earn first-team All-American honors.
"I was taken aback by Jenna's performance. I am not going to lie the 5k Friday was rough. To come out and finish 16th today was amazing. She did everything right. She made all the decisions that she needed to. When you have a team that is as close as ours is you really feed of each other's energy, and they have good energy. I think once she was back with the team on Saturday, it helped push through the fatigue from Friday," Breznau added.
Seniors Lynsie Gram and India Johnson finished within a second of each other. Gram (20:52.4) and Johnson (20:53.8) finished 34th and 35th, respectively. Magness, Gram and Johnson all garnered All-American honors for the Spartans. Makayla Perez completed an incredible sophomore campaign to finish 75th, clocking in at 21:19.6. Fellow sophomore Katie Osika was the final Spartan to score with a time of 21:30.5.
On the men's side, Beadlescomb earned All-American honors, finishing 33rd in his only cross country race of the season. He clocked in with a time of 30:40.3. Senior Joe Riordan (31:34.0) and sophomore James Uhlenberg (31:35.1) were the next two Spartan across the line, finishing 102nd and 105th. Freshman Brandon Favazza (32:08.5) and sophomore Fraser Wilson (32:16.4) were the final two MSU scorers. Uhlenberg and Favazza were running their first collegiate 10k races.
"The men just 100 percent showed up. The message to both teams was to just stay calm, especially on a course as challenging as this one, and the men and the women followed out plan really well. The exciting thing with the men's team is that they are really young. Coach Simoneau and I really just think the men are going to just get better and better. This is one of our best combo championships in years," Breznau said.
The last time both teams competed in the NCAA Championships in 2017, the women finished 15th, while the men were 25th.
After completing the indoor and cross country seasons, the Spartans will begin outdoor season at the end of March.
"These women have just been really resilient. We just kept reminding them of them of their character. And the things to keep in mind and how to behave and to translate that to the race, and they all did an amazing job of that. We kept telling them to go with the flow, there are going to be a lot of unknowns. I am just really proud of them. Our leaders on the women's side have been significant, India Johnson and Lynsie Gram, Jenna Magness ... really all of our top seven are leaders in their own rite," Interim Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Lisa Breznau said.
Michigan State tallied 212 points to capture the fourth-place finish. BYU won the title (96 points), while N.C. State (161 points) and Stanford (207 points), finished second and third, respectively. The Spartans were the top finisher in the Big Ten with Minnesota (239) rounding out the top five.
"A lot if this starts with Coach (Walt) Drenth and everything thing he has taught our staff and the student-athletes, he definitely has a place in this team's success 100 percent. You don't get to this place as a team without everything that he did for the program. Now with Coach (Aaron) Simoneau and Max (Benoit) and even the rest of the staff at home, they are part of the holistic view point that creates a real positive energy. We just hope to see both teams keep growing," Breznau said.
Three of the five scoring runners placed in the top-50, leading Michigan State to its best-team finish since capturing the NCAA Championship in 2014. Last season, the Spartan women finished sixth in the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Indiana, tallying tallied 209 points.
The Spartans were once again led by junior Jenna Magness, who finished 16th to give the Spartans 13 points. The junior crossed the finish line with a time of 20:35.0. Magness had a busy weekend, finishing seventh in the 5000m at the NCAA Indoor Championship to earn first-team All-American honors.
"I was taken aback by Jenna's performance. I am not going to lie the 5k Friday was rough. To come out and finish 16th today was amazing. She did everything right. She made all the decisions that she needed to. When you have a team that is as close as ours is you really feed of each other's energy, and they have good energy. I think once she was back with the team on Saturday, it helped push through the fatigue from Friday," Breznau added.
Seniors Lynsie Gram and India Johnson finished within a second of each other. Gram (20:52.4) and Johnson (20:53.8) finished 34th and 35th, respectively. Magness, Gram and Johnson all garnered All-American honors for the Spartans. Makayla Perez completed an incredible sophomore campaign to finish 75th, clocking in at 21:19.6. Fellow sophomore Katie Osika was the final Spartan to score with a time of 21:30.5.
On the men's side, Beadlescomb earned All-American honors, finishing 33rd in his only cross country race of the season. He clocked in with a time of 30:40.3. Senior Joe Riordan (31:34.0) and sophomore James Uhlenberg (31:35.1) were the next two Spartan across the line, finishing 102nd and 105th. Freshman Brandon Favazza (32:08.5) and sophomore Fraser Wilson (32:16.4) were the final two MSU scorers. Uhlenberg and Favazza were running their first collegiate 10k races.
"The men just 100 percent showed up. The message to both teams was to just stay calm, especially on a course as challenging as this one, and the men and the women followed out plan really well. The exciting thing with the men's team is that they are really young. Coach Simoneau and I really just think the men are going to just get better and better. This is one of our best combo championships in years," Breznau said.
The last time both teams competed in the NCAA Championships in 2017, the women finished 15th, while the men were 25th.
After completing the indoor and cross country seasons, the Spartans will begin outdoor season at the end of March.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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