Michigan State University
Big Ten Championships
Spartan Men Seventh At Big Ten Meet
10/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 30, 2005
Minneapolis, Minn. - The Michigan State University men's cross country team traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to run in the 91st Big Ten Championship Meet. The University of Minnesota played host to the meet on the Les Bolstad Golf Course Sunday morning. Wisconsin Badgers, ranked 2nd in the country, took the team title scoring 16 points, while Ohio State finished runner-up and Minnesota took the third place spot. Simon Bairu claimed the individual title covering the 8 kilometer course in 23:31.
The Spartans finished 7th in the team standings scoring 162 points. They were led by junior Nick Oertel (25:14) who edged out fellow junior Matt Bartlebaugh (25:15) while finishing 25th and 26th respectively. Jim Pancoast followed the duo in 35th place with a time of 25:31. Senior Nathan Egger faded slightly late in the race to finish a disappointing 38th place (25:35). Closing out the scoring for the Spartans was junior Justin Zanotti who finished in a time of 25:53 which was good for 48th place. Also running for the Spartans were sophomores Adam Sprangle (25:54, 48th place) and David Bills (26:31, 65th place) and junior Bobby Sherman (26:55, 71st place).
Coach Drenth had this to say about today's race. "I thought the men competed very well through out the course and stayed true to their race plans today. Matt Bartlebaugh overcame setbacks from an early season injury to get back on track and greatly helped the team out. Nick Oertel continued his streak of steady performances. Our goal coming in was to match last year's performance and we definitely accomplished it showing that we still have a chance to beat some teams at the regional meet to qualify for nationals."
The Spartans finished 7th in the 2004 Big Ten Championship with a score of 158 points on their way to an at large bid out of the NCAA Great Lakes Region. The Spartans compete next at the regional meet hosted by University of Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana on November 12th.
Players Mentioned
