Spartans Score Top-15 Final Rankings for USTFCCCA Men’s and Women’s Program of the Year

Spartans Score Top-15 Final Rankings for USTFCCCA Men’s and Women’s Program of the Year

6/14/2022 3:00:00 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field

Women End Season in 13th and Men Finish 15th in the Nation

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State men's and women's cross country/track and field programs both ended the 2021-22 season with rankings among the top-15 in the final standings for U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Program of the Year, the USTFCCCA announced on Tuesday.

The MSU women came in at No. 13 with 91 points in the final rankings for the Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award, while the Spartan men were 15th for the John McDonnell Program of the Year Award with 102.5 points.

Head coach Lisa Breznau's women's program was the best among Big Ten schools, with top-40 finishes in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. A 16th-place finish by the Spartans at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships and All-American accolades for Jenna Magness kicked off the campaign for the MSU women.

Magness then tallied First Team All-American honors by placing sixth in the 5000m at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships, while pole vaulter Sophia Franklin picked up Second Team All-American status, helping MSU place 40th at the indoor national meet.

Franklin and Magness both then captured First Team All-American honors at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships last week, as Magness took home the bronze medal in the 10,000m finals and Franklin placed seventh in the pole vault. Makayla Perez tacked on a Second Team All-American finish in the 10,000m race to help the Spartans finish the outdoor championships tied for 30th.

On the men's side under Breznau and head men's cross country coach Aaron Simoneau, the Spartans also posted three Top-40 finishes and were the second-best Big Ten program behind ninth-place Wisconsin. A fifth-place finish from Morgan Beadlescomb at the NCAA Cross Country Championships made him an All-American for the third time in cross country and propelled the Green & White to 30th at the national championships to open the campaign.

Beadlescomb continued his dominance into the winter, finishing as the mile runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships to add another First Team All-American honor to his resume. He then earned Second Team All-American distinction in the 5000m later the same day, while Trevor Stephenson also became a Second Team All-American in the pole vault competition to guide the MSU men to 28th.

The NCAA Outdoor Championships saw five Spartan men be named All-Americans and the group finish tied for 39th, as Beadlescomb posted another runner-up finish, this time in the 5000m, to once again earn First Team All-American status. 1500m finalist John Petruno and Stephenson in the pole vault both finished ninth in their events to just miss the podium, taking home Second Team All-American awards for their efforts, while Heath Baldwin was a Second Team All-American in the decathlon and fellow decathlete Ryan Talbot was honored as a Honorable Mention All-American.

The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finish at the NCAA Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each NCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.

This season's Program of the Year winner on the women's side was Arkansas at 18 points, while Texas took home Program of the Year honors for the men with 17 points.