Michigan State University Athletics
Women's Cross Country Qualifies to NCAA Championships, Stimpfel, Smith Earn Individual Berths
11/12/2022 5:55:00 PM | Cross Country
MSU women earn 22nd-consecutive bid
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's cross country team earned their 22nd-consecutive berth to the NCAA Championships, announced Saturday afternoon. On the men's side, graduate student CarLee Stimpfel and Aden Smith notched individual bids.Â
The NCAA Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19 at the OSU Greiner Family Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Hosted by Oklahoma State, the women's 6k is set for 9:20 a.m. CT, while Stimpfel and Smith will run in the men's 10k at 10:10 a.m. CT. The Michigan State women earned one of 13 at-large bids in the 31-team field. Stimpfel and Smith were selected as two of 38 total individual qualifiers after finishing as the third and fourth individuals not on qualifying teams at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 11.Â
The Spartan women, who finished fifth at the Great Lakes Regional, have posted several impressive performances throughout the 2022 season, highlighted by winning the Big Ten Cross Country title on Oct. 28. Graduate student Katie Osika, sophomore Kaitlyn Hynes and junior Makenna Veen have consistently finished in the Spartans' top three this season. Osika finished second at the conference championships and third at the Great Lakes Regional, while Hynes earned All-Region honors and Veen earned second-team All-B1G honors this season. The Spartans are currently ranked 19th in the country and finished 16th at last year's NCAA Championships.Â
Stimpfel and Smith head to Stillwater after finishing 19th and 20th, respectively, at the Great Lakes Regional, both earning All-Region honors. Stimpfel was MSU's highest finisher for the fourth-place Spartan men at the Big Ten Championships, finishing in a first-team All-B1G fifth. Smith posted a historic victory at the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 23, becoming the first Spartan in history to win the individual title at the meet. Smith's trip to Stillwater will be his first national championship appearance, while Stimpfel will be making his first Division I appearance after qualifying for the Division II National Championships three times at Saginaw Valley State.Â
The NCAA Cross Country Championships will broadcast on ESPNU.Â
