Saturday, May 29
Jacksonville, Fla.
All Day
Michigan State University
vs
NCAA First Round
Anderson and Magness Secure Spots in NCAA Finals
5/29/2021 10:47:00 PM | Track and Field
Spartan duo earn berths to nationals in 1500m and 5000m.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - On the final night of the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Florida, Sarah Anderson (1500m) and Jenna Magness (5000m) both punched their tickets to the NCAA Finals.
"I am thrilled and really proud of how we manage ourselves. Such a long time to be here. Coach (Ceith) Creekmur and the jumps crew have been here since Sunday, so definitely a long time for them. I think that it's important this time of year just to keep things simple, and be ready to go, focus on recovery. And we did a good job of that of just doing what we needed to do to get things done. I'm really proud of our team and our coaches for this week," Interim Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Lisa Breznau said.
Sarah Anderson was the first Spartan competitor of the evening in the 1500m. She competed in the first of two heats, finishing sixth in the heat with a time of 4:16.88. Anderson qualified on time, taking the 12th and final spot. She was able to overcome a tumble right in front of her to complete the race.
"The tumble in front of her just kind of crushed her momentum, but she stayed with it," Breznau said. "When we talked this morning, she's like 'no matter what happens I just want to compete, all the way until I cross the finish line, like whether I'm in the top five or not, that's what I'm gonna do.' So she did that, and she got to that qualifying mark. So that was super exciting. She's been at this meet and been very close to making it out and not been able to do it. So, it's a pretty special moment for her."
The time was Anderson's second-fastest of the season, but shy of her time in the Big Ten Championship times of 4:14.90.
Big Ten Champion Jenna Magness continued her impressive season with a solid performance in the 5000m. With a strong push the final 500m of the race, she finished second in her heat with a time of 15:57.41 to get the automatic berth. Magness finished the race sixth overall.
"I thought Jenna was very poised throughout her race and did exactly what she needed to do. It's really hard at the end, when you could push and win, but it was pretty clear that the three of them were going to make it. She just did what she needed to do to cross the line and stay in that position. She and Morgan (Beadlescomb) both had great weekends, as did James (Uhlenberg) and Max (Perez) to have their first experience here go solid is a good way to start at this meet.
Making her first-ever appearance at an NCAA East Prelim, freshman Makayla Perez finished 11th in her heat and 21st overall, clocking in at 16:26.98. She was just off her career-best time of 16:14.15 at the Big Ten Indiana Invite #4 on May 1.
In total, Michigan State has eight athletes who secured spots to the NCAA Finals, including Wade Walder (decathlon), Trevor Stephenson (pole vault), Sophia Franklin (pole vault), Lynsie Gram (10,000m), India Johnson (10,000m), Morgan Beadlescomb (5000m), Jenna Magness (5000m) and Sarah Anderson (1500m).
"Morgan was just wonderful to watch, and he just moved so easily and did all the things he needed to do to put himself in a really good position and not waste too much energy. So he was just really smart and really savvy," Breznau said of Beadlescomb's race on Friday. "Clearly, it worked out really well in the end, he's got a lot more run in his legs, which is exciting. I think he's gonna have a fun month of June ahead."
The Spartans will take a week off before the NCAA Finals, which will be held June 9-12 at Heyward Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
"I am thrilled and really proud of how we manage ourselves. Such a long time to be here. Coach (Ceith) Creekmur and the jumps crew have been here since Sunday, so definitely a long time for them. I think that it's important this time of year just to keep things simple, and be ready to go, focus on recovery. And we did a good job of that of just doing what we needed to do to get things done. I'm really proud of our team and our coaches for this week," Interim Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Lisa Breznau said.
Sarah Anderson was the first Spartan competitor of the evening in the 1500m. She competed in the first of two heats, finishing sixth in the heat with a time of 4:16.88. Anderson qualified on time, taking the 12th and final spot. She was able to overcome a tumble right in front of her to complete the race.
"The tumble in front of her just kind of crushed her momentum, but she stayed with it," Breznau said. "When we talked this morning, she's like 'no matter what happens I just want to compete, all the way until I cross the finish line, like whether I'm in the top five or not, that's what I'm gonna do.' So she did that, and she got to that qualifying mark. So that was super exciting. She's been at this meet and been very close to making it out and not been able to do it. So, it's a pretty special moment for her."
The time was Anderson's second-fastest of the season, but shy of her time in the Big Ten Championship times of 4:14.90.
Big Ten Champion Jenna Magness continued her impressive season with a solid performance in the 5000m. With a strong push the final 500m of the race, she finished second in her heat with a time of 15:57.41 to get the automatic berth. Magness finished the race sixth overall.
"I thought Jenna was very poised throughout her race and did exactly what she needed to do. It's really hard at the end, when you could push and win, but it was pretty clear that the three of them were going to make it. She just did what she needed to do to cross the line and stay in that position. She and Morgan (Beadlescomb) both had great weekends, as did James (Uhlenberg) and Max (Perez) to have their first experience here go solid is a good way to start at this meet.
Making her first-ever appearance at an NCAA East Prelim, freshman Makayla Perez finished 11th in her heat and 21st overall, clocking in at 16:26.98. She was just off her career-best time of 16:14.15 at the Big Ten Indiana Invite #4 on May 1.
In total, Michigan State has eight athletes who secured spots to the NCAA Finals, including Wade Walder (decathlon), Trevor Stephenson (pole vault), Sophia Franklin (pole vault), Lynsie Gram (10,000m), India Johnson (10,000m), Morgan Beadlescomb (5000m), Jenna Magness (5000m) and Sarah Anderson (1500m).
"Morgan was just wonderful to watch, and he just moved so easily and did all the things he needed to do to put himself in a really good position and not waste too much energy. So he was just really smart and really savvy," Breznau said of Beadlescomb's race on Friday. "Clearly, it worked out really well in the end, he's got a lot more run in his legs, which is exciting. I think he's gonna have a fun month of June ahead."
The Spartans will take a week off before the NCAA Finals, which will be held June 9-12 at Heyward Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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Distance
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Hurdles/Pole Vault
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Jumps
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Combined Events
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