Cross Country Set for Friday's Big Ten Championships

Big Ten Cross Country Championships
Date: Friday, Oct. 23
Time: 10:45 a.m. (Women's 6k) | 11:45 a.m. (Men's 8k)
Watch: B1G+
Live Results

Women's Teams:
#29 Northwestern, Rutgers, #17 Wisconsin, Maryland, Purdue, RV Illinois, Iowa, #26 Michigan, RV Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, #22 Ohio State, #23 Michigan State, Penn State

Men's Teams:
Rutgers, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan State, #29 Michigan, Penn State, Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, #9 Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio State

Michigan State Entries (Women):
Julia Bajt, Emily Bardwell, Madelynn Bean, Meghan Beute, Abbey Carvey, Lauren Freeland, Fatima Giron, Kaitlyn Hynes, Eleanor Kendell, Courtney Krupp, Kaya Kuokkanen, Abigail Lee, Olivia Millen, Grace Molloy, Katie Osika, Madison Price, Megan Randall, Judith Rector, Katelyn Stewart-Barnett, Makenna Veen, Taylor Visscher, Alison Ziehl

Michigan State Entries (Men):
Abdi-Fetah Ahmed, Riley Hough, Owen Huard, Jeremy Kloss, Andrew Lane, Andrew Nolan, Alexander Penski, John Petruno, Drew Seabase, Aden Smith, Joshua Smith, CarLee Stimpfel, Fraser Wilson

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan State men's and women's cross country make the short trip to Ann Arbor for the Big Ten Cross Country Championships on Friday, Oct. 28 at the University of Michigan Golf Course. The women's 6k is set for 10:45 a.m., followed by the men's 8k at 11:45 a.m.

The Spartan women return three runners from last year's third-place team, including sophomore Kaitlyn Hynes, a second-team All-B1G performer and 2021 Big Ten Cross Country Freshman of the Year. Junior Makenna Veen also returns after a 40th-place finish, while senior Katie Osika finished 50th.

Hynes, Osika and Veen have consistently placed in the Spartans' top three this season, with Osika posting top-10 finishes at the Spartan Invitational (2nd/21:14) and Roy Griak Invitational (6th/21:00) and finishing as the best Spartan at the Nuttycombe Invitational in a 6k personal best of 20:25. Veen finished third at the Spartan Invitational (21:22), 14th at the Roy Griak Invitational (21:14) and also set a personal best at Nuttycombe with a time of 20:53. Hynes led the Michigan State women to a first-place team finish at the Spartan Invitational, claiming the individual title in 21:07, and recorded a top-20 finish at the Roy Griak Invitational.

Graduate student Grace Molloy, senior Lauren Freeland, junior Emily Bardwell, sophomore Kate Stewart-Barnett and junior Taylor Visscher have also placed within the Green & White top seven this season. Molloy placed fifth at the Spartan Invitational and was the Spartans' third runner to cross the line at Nuttycombe in a personal best time of 20:59. Freeland has scored for the Spartans in all three of her appearances this season.

True freshman Meghan Beute will make her first appearance in a Spartan uniform on Friday after posting impressive performances running unattached this season. Beute most recently finished third at the EMU Fall Classic, running 17:21 for 5k, and posted a sub-22 minute 6k performance at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

The women's team race is set to be highly competitive, as seven of the 14 entered teams are either ranked or receiving votes in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll. Penn State and Minnesota have also received votes in earlier polls throughout the season. The 23rd-ranked Spartans enter Friday as the third-highest ranked team behind No. 17 Wisconsin and No. 22 Ohio State – the Spartans finished ahead of both teams at the Roy Griak Invitational.

The Michigan State men return five of nine runners from last year's fifth-place team, led by seniors Aden Smith and Abdi-Fetah Ahmed. Smith has had a breakout season for the Spartans, finishing third at the Spartan Invitational and recording a historic first-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational. His performance at the Roy Griak Invitational earned him Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors on Sept. 28. Ahmed has posted two top-five finishes this season, collecting runner-up honors at the Michigan Big Ten Preview (17:59/6k) and a third-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational (24:16/8k). He was Michigan State's second finisher at the Nuttycombe Invitational, running a personal best time of 24:04.

Two new faces on the 2022 roster are also set to make an impact for the Spartans on Friday. True freshman Riley Hough made his Michigan State debut at the Nuttycombe Invitational, crossing the line first for the Spartans in an 8k time of 23:58. Hough was an Eastbay Cross Country National Champion and Michigan Gatorade Boy's Cross Country Player of the Year as a senior at Hartland High School in 2021. Graduate transfer CarLee Stimpfel, a 10-time Division II All-American at Saginaw Valley State, finished third for the Spartans at Nuttycombe and recorded fourth-place finishes at both the Big Ten Preview and Spartan Invitational running unattached.

Junior Andrew Nolan and graduate students John Petruno and Fraser Wilson have also scored for Michigan State this season. Nolan finished seventh at the Big Ten Preview and 15th at the Roy Griak Invitational. Petruno notched top-20 finishes at both the Big Ten Preview and Roy Griak Invitational, and Wilson, a 2021 Great Lakes All-Region honoree, ran a personal best time of 24:26 at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

Junior Owen Huard and senior Joshua Smith have also finished in the Spartans' top seven this season, posting personal bests of 24:38 and 24:52, respectively.

The men's team race features two ranked teams, including ninth-ranked Wisconsin, who have won four-straight team titles, and 29th-ranked Michigan. Minnesota has also received votes in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll this season, while the Spartans have been ranked as high as 27th.

Admission is free for spectators at the University of Michigan Golf Course. A live stream of the meet will be available on B1G+.

Up next, the Spartans travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 11. The NCAA Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Okla.

Next Event

Related Videos