Spartans Run To Seventh Place Finish At Great Lakes.

Nov. 12, 2005

Bloomington, Ind. - The Michigan State men's cross country team placed seventh overall at the Great Lakes Regional championship on Saturday. Junior Jim Pancoast (Stevensville) was the top finisher for the Green and White with a 23^rd place finish in 31:55.0. The Spartans bested 23 other teams from the region, including Big Ten rivals Michigan and Purdue, putting themselves in an excellent position to earn an at large bid to the NCAA championship.

Senior Nathan Egger (Bath) finished on the heels of Pancoast in 25^th place in a time of 31:59.1, while Nick Oertel (Goodrich) finished 45^th in a time of 32:34.7 to give the Spartans three top-fifty finishers.

Juniors Matt Bartelbaugh (52nd) and Justin Zanotti (58^th) rounded out the Michigan State scorers with times of 32:43.6 and 32:51.9, respectively.

"We were one runner away from a real great day today," said Drenth. "It is a little bittersweet because I would have liked to see our team race like that all season. Today we beat some very good teams and put ourselves in a good position to earn a trip to the NCAA's."

Indiana State University, in Terre Haute, Ind., will serve as the host for the 2005 NCAA Division I championship. Should the Spartans qualify for the national meet they will compete on Monday, Nov. 21.