MSU Women’s Cross Country, Riley Hough Earn Bids to NCAA Championship
11/16/2024 9:59:00 PM | Cross Country
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's cross country was awarded an at-large bid to compete at the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 23, while Riley Hough was selected as an individual on the men's side, it was announced in by the NCAA on Saturday.
The Spartan women have now advanced to the NCAA Championships 24-straight years, while Hough is earning his first trip to the National Championships.
The 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison. The women will compete in a 6K race at 10:20 a.m. ET, while the men will run a 10K race at 11:10 a.m. ET. The awards presentation is slated to begin at approximately 12 p.m. ET.
The Zimmer Championship course is a very familiar course to MSU. The Spartans will travel back to Madison for their second race at the Zimmerman Championship Course. Earlier this season, MSU competed at the Wisconsin Pre-National Meet.
At the Great Lake Regionals on Friday, the Michigan State women finished fourth in the 6k race with 111 points. The women were once again led by Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rachel Forsyth, who finished second with a time of 19:31.7. Kaitlyn Hynes finished seventh with a time of 19:46.3. Both Forsyth and Hynes earned All-Region honors for their efforts.
Taylor Ewert was 32nd with a time of 20:27.4, with Olivia Millen crossing the line in 20:28.2, which was good for 33rd. Millen set a new personal best in the Great Lakes Regional.
Riley Hough's seventh-place finish in the men's 10k was the best by a Spartan since All-American Morgan Beadlescomb finished third in 2021.Hough crossed the line in 29:26.9, which was the best-ever by a Spartan in a 10k NCAA Regional race. Hough also hugely improved on his 2022 time at the Great Lakes Regional of 30:36.1.
The women will fight to crack the top-10 for the first time in four years and aim for their first national title since the program's first in 2014.
The Spartan women have now advanced to the NCAA Championships 24-straight years, while Hough is earning his first trip to the National Championships.
The 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison. The women will compete in a 6K race at 10:20 a.m. ET, while the men will run a 10K race at 11:10 a.m. ET. The awards presentation is slated to begin at approximately 12 p.m. ET.
The Zimmer Championship course is a very familiar course to MSU. The Spartans will travel back to Madison for their second race at the Zimmerman Championship Course. Earlier this season, MSU competed at the Wisconsin Pre-National Meet.
At the Great Lake Regionals on Friday, the Michigan State women finished fourth in the 6k race with 111 points. The women were once again led by Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rachel Forsyth, who finished second with a time of 19:31.7. Kaitlyn Hynes finished seventh with a time of 19:46.3. Both Forsyth and Hynes earned All-Region honors for their efforts.
Taylor Ewert was 32nd with a time of 20:27.4, with Olivia Millen crossing the line in 20:28.2, which was good for 33rd. Millen set a new personal best in the Great Lakes Regional.
Riley Hough's seventh-place finish in the men's 10k was the best by a Spartan since All-American Morgan Beadlescomb finished third in 2021.Hough crossed the line in 29:26.9, which was the best-ever by a Spartan in a 10k NCAA Regional race. Hough also hugely improved on his 2022 time at the Great Lakes Regional of 30:36.1.
The women will fight to crack the top-10 for the first time in four years and aim for their first national title since the program's first in 2014.
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