Cross Country Set for NCAA Championships

NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Date: Saturday, Nov. 19
Time: 9:20 a.m. CT (Women's 6k) | 10:10 a.m. CT (Men's 10k)
Location: Stillwater, Okla. (OSU Greiner Family Cross Country Course)
Watch: ESPNU
Live Results

Michigan State Meet Notes

STILLWATER, Okla. - Michigan State cross country travels to Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday, Nov. 19 for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The women's 6K and men's 10K races will both be held at OSU Greiner Family Cross Country Course, with the women starting at 9:20 a.m. CT and the men beginning at 10:10 a.m. CT. The Spartan women will compete in their 22nd-straight NCAA Cross Country Championship as a team, while CarLee Stimpfel and Aden Smith will run as individuals for the Michigan State men.

FAMILIAR TERRITORY FOR THE SPARTANS
MSU is back at the NCAA Championships for the second-straight season, as the women earned an at-large berth, while Smith and Stimpfel qualified as individuals. This is the 22nd-straight appearance for the Spartan women at Nationals. Stimpfel, a three-time Divison II Cross Country All-American at Saginaw Valley State, looks to snag his first Division I All-American honor. Sophomore Kaitlyn Hynes (132nd), grad student Katie Osika (146th) and junior Makenna Veen (197th) return from last year's 16th-place women's team.

B1G CHAMPIONS
Spartan women's cross country claimed their third title in four years at October's Big Ten Championships, led by Osika who grabbed individual runner-up honors. Veen finished ninth for second-team All-B1G recognition, while all seven Spartan scorers finished within the top 50. Stimpfel led the Michigan State men to a fourth-place finish, finishing fifth overall for first-team All-B1G honors.

ALL-REGION HONORS ROLL IN
Four Spartans claimed All-Region honors at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, led by Osika who finished third overall. Hynes earned her second-straight all-region honor with a 24th-place finish for the fourth-place MSU women. Stimpfel (19th) and Smith (20th) earned All-Region honors en route to their individual bids to the NCAA Championships.

BREAKOUT SEASONS
Smith, who will be competing in his first NCAA Championships, has had a breakout campaign for the Spartans this season. He started the year with a third-place, then-personal best finish at the Spartan Invitational before winning the individual title at the historic Roy Griak Invitational in September. On the women's side, Osika has crossed the line first for MSU in four of her five races this season, highlighted by top-three finishes at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

BREZNAU AND STAFF BLEED GREEN
Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Lisa Breznau is an alumnus of the program, as are assistant coaches Aaron Simoneau and Max Benoit and director of operations Rebekah Smeltzer-Pickard. Breznau was an All-American in cross country and track (5000m) during her senior year in 2008-09. Simoneau was a two-time national qualifier in the 3,000m steeplechase from 2007-12. Benoit was an 2018 All-American in the steeplechase and holds the school record in that event with a time of 8:44.46 in the 2015 NCAA Regionals, while Smeltzer-Pickard was a three-time All-Region pick in cross country from 2008-11.

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Players Mentioned

Max Benoit

Michigan State University Athletics