Cross Country
Breznau, Lisa
Lisa Breznau
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach - Cross Country/Distance
- Email:
- breznau@ath.msu.edu
- Phone:
- 517-353-6357
• 2015 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Women's Indoor Assistant Track Coach of the Year
• 2019 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
• 2020 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
• 2022 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
• 2023 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
Former Spartan standout Lisa Breznau is in her 14th year overall as a member of the MSU coaching staff.
In November of 2020, she was named Interim Director of Track & Field/Cross Country after five years as the associate head coach of the cross country and track & field programs, and had the interim tag removed during the summer of 2021.
After serving as an assistant coach for five years from 2010-15, Breznau was promoted to the associate head coach for the cross country and track & field programs in 2015.
In her year as the Interim Director of Cross Country and Track & Field, she led the Michigan State women to their second-straight Big Ten Cross Country title.
After a conference title season for the Spartans women's cross country team in 2022, Breznau was a unanimous selection for Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, the second selection for the honor in her career. The B1G title marked the third in four years for the Michigan State women and the second title under Breznau as Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. The season saw Breznau guide graduate student Katie Osika and junior Makenna Veen to all-conference finishes at the Big Ten Championships while Osika finished the season as an All-American.
The Spartans captured back-to-back Big Ten Cross Country Champions, winning in 2023. Osika also garnered Big Ten Cross Country Women's Athlete of the Year that season.
After the 2019 season, Breznau was named USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. She followed in the footsteps of Walt Drenth who was honored as Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year five times. She also guided the MSU men's and women's cross country teams to the best combined finish in Michigan State history, as the women finished fourth and the men were 17th. The fourth-place finish was the women's best since winning the NCAA title in 2014.
Breznau also guided Jenna Magness to Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor titles in the 5000m. Magness was also named Great Lakes Region Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Great Lakes Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. Breznau earned her first Great Lakes Region coaching honor in 2015 and became the first Spartan assistant coach to earn the accolade since John Newell in 2011.
At the 2021, Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championship Morgan Beadlescomb (5000m) and Sophia Franklin (Pole Vault) also captured Big Ten titles.
A native of Davison, Michigan, Breznau’s primary focus is with the cross country and indoor and outdoor distance programs.
Breznau has played a key role in the development of eight women’s cross country All-Americans, including two-time honorees, Annie Fuller and Rachele Schulist. On the track, Breznau has helped mentor six-time All-American Leah O’Connor and five-time All-American Schulist.
Breznau captured her first Great Lakes Region coaching honor in 2019 and became the first Spartan assistant coach to earn the accolade since John Newell in 2011.
In 2019, Breznau was an integral part of the women’s cross country team’s success. Along with winning the Big Ten title, the Spartan women won the Great Lakes Regional Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the NCAA Championships, the team raced to a sixth-place finish with seniors Annie Fuller and Jeralyn Poe earning All-American honors. Breznau helped mentor three All-Big Ten honorees, five All-Region and two All-Americans that season.
Under Breznau's tutelage during the 2019 season, Michigan State had two athletes advance to the NCAA Outdoor Finals, with Dillon McClintock qualifying in the 1,500m and Karrigan Smith in the 3,000m steeplechase. In total, Breznau coached 12 athletes that competed in the NCAA East Prelims.
On the cross country course, Breznau has helped coach the Spartan women's cross country team to six Big Ten Championship titles since the 2010 season, including the program's eighth title in 2021.
Breznau was a key part of the Michigan State cross country team capturing its first-ever NCAA Championship in 2014, as well as Big Ten and Great Lakes Region titles. The success continued during the indoor season when she was named the 2015 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Great Lakes Region Assistant Coach of the Year. During the outdoor season, the success continued for the Spartans as the women won their first Big Ten title since 1982.
During the 2010-11 school year, her first season back with MSU, the team already reaped the benefits of her experience and success as a Spartan. In the fall, the women's cross country team won the program's first conference team title since 2001. The women also won the NCAA Great Lakes Region race to earn an automatic berth into the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships for the 12-straight year. Senior Emily MacLeod flourished she was named both the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Athlete of the Year for the second-straight year, and the Big Ten Athlete of the Year, winning both races in convincing manner. MacLeod capped off the season with an All-America performance at the NCAA Championships.
MacLeod went on to break two school records during the track season in which Breznau had previously been a part of, the outdoor 5,000-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, MacLeod turned in a school-record time of 15:48.20 to place seventh overall in the 5,000-meter run, earning herself her second USTFCCCA All-America nod of the school year.
In her first year out of college, Breznau helped then-junior Caden Shields serve as Purdue's lone representative at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships where he turned in a time of 31:13.8 for 132nd. Shields was the top male Boilermaker at all six of the competitions he ran in over the course of the fall. On the women's side, Camille Buscomb was the top individual runner at the Big Ten Championships for Purdue when she narrowly missed All-Big Ten honors, placing 17th with a time of 21:17.0, a mark which ranks sixth all time in the Purdue record books.
On the track, Breznau played an instrumental role in the development of Sarah Klaczynski in the 3,000m steeplechase. Klaczynski was the lone distance representative for the Boilermakers at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Klaczynski qualified for the finals in Eugene, Ore., after turning in a school-record time of 10:11.17 in her preliminary race. Klaczynski became just the second NCAA qualifier for the Boilermakers in the women's steeplechase since 2004. Klaczysnki, who entered her final campaign having never placed at a conference meet or participated in a national meet, graduated a Big Ten Championship medalist and NCAA Championship finals qualifier in the steeplechase.
Breznau earned a pair of All-America awards in 2008-09, earning fourth-place in the 5,000-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 16:28.88, and taking 27th place overall at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships, completing the 6K course in 20:33.40. She led the Spartans to a 20th-place team showing at the outdoor track and field national championships and an 11th-place team effort at the cross country national meet. She also qualified for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the one-mile run with a season-best time of 4:40.91. She completed her collegiate career with Michigan State's records in the one-mile run, the 1,500-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay.
Other accomplishments from her final season included leading the Spartans to third-place team finishes at the NCAA Great Lakes Cross Country Regional Championship and the Big Ten Cross Country Championship, as well as First-Team All-Big Ten cross country honors. She also earned her third consecutive spot on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team.
Breznau received her bachelor's degree from MSU in English with a focus in general comparative literature, and was a member of the Spartan's Dean's List for all eight semesters of college.
She and her husband, Chris, were married in 2020.
• 2019 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
• 2020 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
• 2022 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
• 2023 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
Former Spartan standout Lisa Breznau is in her 14th year overall as a member of the MSU coaching staff.
In November of 2020, she was named Interim Director of Track & Field/Cross Country after five years as the associate head coach of the cross country and track & field programs, and had the interim tag removed during the summer of 2021.
After serving as an assistant coach for five years from 2010-15, Breznau was promoted to the associate head coach for the cross country and track & field programs in 2015.
In her year as the Interim Director of Cross Country and Track & Field, she led the Michigan State women to their second-straight Big Ten Cross Country title.
After a conference title season for the Spartans women's cross country team in 2022, Breznau was a unanimous selection for Big Ten Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, the second selection for the honor in her career. The B1G title marked the third in four years for the Michigan State women and the second title under Breznau as Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. The season saw Breznau guide graduate student Katie Osika and junior Makenna Veen to all-conference finishes at the Big Ten Championships while Osika finished the season as an All-American.
The Spartans captured back-to-back Big Ten Cross Country Champions, winning in 2023. Osika also garnered Big Ten Cross Country Women's Athlete of the Year that season.
After the 2019 season, Breznau was named USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. She followed in the footsteps of Walt Drenth who was honored as Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year five times. She also guided the MSU men's and women's cross country teams to the best combined finish in Michigan State history, as the women finished fourth and the men were 17th. The fourth-place finish was the women's best since winning the NCAA title in 2014.
Breznau also guided Jenna Magness to Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor titles in the 5000m. Magness was also named Great Lakes Region Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Great Lakes Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. Breznau earned her first Great Lakes Region coaching honor in 2015 and became the first Spartan assistant coach to earn the accolade since John Newell in 2011.
At the 2021, Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championship Morgan Beadlescomb (5000m) and Sophia Franklin (Pole Vault) also captured Big Ten titles.
A native of Davison, Michigan, Breznau’s primary focus is with the cross country and indoor and outdoor distance programs.
Breznau has played a key role in the development of eight women’s cross country All-Americans, including two-time honorees, Annie Fuller and Rachele Schulist. On the track, Breznau has helped mentor six-time All-American Leah O’Connor and five-time All-American Schulist.
Breznau captured her first Great Lakes Region coaching honor in 2019 and became the first Spartan assistant coach to earn the accolade since John Newell in 2011.
In 2019, Breznau was an integral part of the women’s cross country team’s success. Along with winning the Big Ten title, the Spartan women won the Great Lakes Regional Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the NCAA Championships, the team raced to a sixth-place finish with seniors Annie Fuller and Jeralyn Poe earning All-American honors. Breznau helped mentor three All-Big Ten honorees, five All-Region and two All-Americans that season.
Under Breznau's tutelage during the 2019 season, Michigan State had two athletes advance to the NCAA Outdoor Finals, with Dillon McClintock qualifying in the 1,500m and Karrigan Smith in the 3,000m steeplechase. In total, Breznau coached 12 athletes that competed in the NCAA East Prelims.
On the cross country course, Breznau has helped coach the Spartan women's cross country team to six Big Ten Championship titles since the 2010 season, including the program's eighth title in 2021.
Breznau was a key part of the Michigan State cross country team capturing its first-ever NCAA Championship in 2014, as well as Big Ten and Great Lakes Region titles. The success continued during the indoor season when she was named the 2015 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Great Lakes Region Assistant Coach of the Year. During the outdoor season, the success continued for the Spartans as the women won their first Big Ten title since 1982.
During the 2010-11 school year, her first season back with MSU, the team already reaped the benefits of her experience and success as a Spartan. In the fall, the women's cross country team won the program's first conference team title since 2001. The women also won the NCAA Great Lakes Region race to earn an automatic berth into the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships for the 12-straight year. Senior Emily MacLeod flourished she was named both the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Athlete of the Year for the second-straight year, and the Big Ten Athlete of the Year, winning both races in convincing manner. MacLeod capped off the season with an All-America performance at the NCAA Championships.
MacLeod went on to break two school records during the track season in which Breznau had previously been a part of, the outdoor 5,000-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, MacLeod turned in a school-record time of 15:48.20 to place seventh overall in the 5,000-meter run, earning herself her second USTFCCCA All-America nod of the school year.
In her first year out of college, Breznau helped then-junior Caden Shields serve as Purdue's lone representative at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships where he turned in a time of 31:13.8 for 132nd. Shields was the top male Boilermaker at all six of the competitions he ran in over the course of the fall. On the women's side, Camille Buscomb was the top individual runner at the Big Ten Championships for Purdue when she narrowly missed All-Big Ten honors, placing 17th with a time of 21:17.0, a mark which ranks sixth all time in the Purdue record books.
On the track, Breznau played an instrumental role in the development of Sarah Klaczynski in the 3,000m steeplechase. Klaczynski was the lone distance representative for the Boilermakers at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Klaczynski qualified for the finals in Eugene, Ore., after turning in a school-record time of 10:11.17 in her preliminary race. Klaczynski became just the second NCAA qualifier for the Boilermakers in the women's steeplechase since 2004. Klaczysnki, who entered her final campaign having never placed at a conference meet or participated in a national meet, graduated a Big Ten Championship medalist and NCAA Championship finals qualifier in the steeplechase.
Breznau earned a pair of All-America awards in 2008-09, earning fourth-place in the 5,000-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 16:28.88, and taking 27th place overall at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships, completing the 6K course in 20:33.40. She led the Spartans to a 20th-place team showing at the outdoor track and field national championships and an 11th-place team effort at the cross country national meet. She also qualified for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the one-mile run with a season-best time of 4:40.91. She completed her collegiate career with Michigan State's records in the one-mile run, the 1,500-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay.
Other accomplishments from her final season included leading the Spartans to third-place team finishes at the NCAA Great Lakes Cross Country Regional Championship and the Big Ten Cross Country Championship, as well as First-Team All-Big Ten cross country honors. She also earned her third consecutive spot on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team.
Breznau received her bachelor's degree from MSU in English with a focus in general comparative literature, and was a member of the Spartan's Dean's List for all eight semesters of college.
She and her husband, Chris, were married in 2020.
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