Michigan State University Athletics
Cross Country
- Title:
- Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
- Email:
- breznau@ath.msu.edu
• 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 16th year overall as a member of the Michigan State University Athletics 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 associate head coach for the cross country and track & field programs in 2015.
As Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, she led the Michigan State women to their second-straight Big Ten Cross Country title during her initial interim season.
Following 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. That 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 campaign as an All-American.
The Spartans subsequently captured back-to-back Big Ten Cross Country titles by winning again in 2023, during which Osika also garnered Big Ten Cross Country Women's Athlete of the Year honors. Continuing her leadership through the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Breznau directed the women's program to its 24th-consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships in late 2024—where standout freshman Rachel Forsyth earned first-team All-America honors with a 16th-place individual finish—while maintaining strong regional representation and steady national postseason consistency through the 2025 campaign.
After the 2019 season, Breznau was named USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, following in the footsteps of Walt Drenth. 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 placed fourth and the men finished 17th at the national meet—marking the women's best national finish since winning the NCAA title in 2014.
Breznau also guided Jenna Magness to Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor titles in the 5,000m. Magness was additionally 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, becoming the first Spartan assistant coach to earn the accolade since John Newell in 2011.
At the 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Morgan Beadlescomb (5,000m) and Sophia Franklin (Pole Vault) also captured Big Ten titles under the broader program oversight.
A native of Davison, Michigan, Breznau’s primary focus centers on the cross country and indoor and outdoor distance programs.
Breznau has played a vital role in the development of numerous women’s cross country All-Americans, including multi-time honorees Annie Fuller and Rachele Schulist. On the track, she has helped mentor high-caliber distance talent including six-time All-American Leah O’Connor and five-time All-American Schulist.
In 2019, Breznau was an integral part of the women’s cross country team’s success as they won both the Big Ten title and the Great Lakes Regional Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the national meet, 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 selections, and two All-Americans that season.
Under Breznau's tutelage during the 2019 campaign, 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, alongside 12 total athletes competing in the NCAA East Prelims.
On the cross country course, Breznau has helped coach the Spartan women's cross country team to multiple Big Ten Championship titles since returning to the program in 2010, including the program's eighth title in 2021.
Breznau was a cornerstone of the coaching staff when the Michigan State cross country team captured its first-ever NCAA Championship in 2014, alongside Big Ten and Great Lakes Region titles. That momentum continued during the indoor season when she was named the 2015 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Assistant Coach of the Year, followed by the women capturing their first outdoor Big Ten title since 1982.
During the 2010-11 school year—her first season back with MSU—the team immediately benefited from her experience. The fall women's cross country team won the program's first conference team title since 2001 and secured an automatic berth into the NCAA Cross Country Championships by winning the NCAA Great Lakes Region race. Senior Emily MacLeod flourished under her guidance, being named both the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year and the Big Ten Athlete of the Year, before capping off the season with an All-America performance at the NCAA Championships.
MacLeod subsequently broke two school records during the track season—the outdoor 5,000-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay—and placed seventh overall in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a school-record time of 15:48.20.
Before returning to her alma mater, Breznau began her collegiate coaching career at Purdue, where she helped coach junior Caden Shields to the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships and guided Sarah Klaczynski to a school record and a finals appearance in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
As a collegiate athlete, Breznau earned a pair of All-America awards in 2008-09, finishing fourth in the 5,000-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships (16:28.88) and taking 27th at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships (20:33.40). She completed her illustrious career holding Michigan State records in the one-mile run, the 1,500-meter run, and the indoor distance medley relay, while earning Dean's List honors for all eight semesters.
She and her husband, Chris, were married in 2020.
