Michigan State Set For Cross Country Big Ten Championships

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BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Michigan State Spartans travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, Oct. 28, to compete in the Big Ten Championships, hosted by Ohio State University. The No. 7 Michigan State women are scheduled to begin their 5K race at 10:45 a.m., with the men's 8K race starting shortly after at 11:30 a.m. The meet will be held at the Ohio State University Golf Course.

LAST YEAR

The men's and women's teams both ran to fourth-place finishes in last year's Big Ten Championships. Nicole Bush was the top finisher last season of this year's returning runners, and finished in 15th place with a time of 21:15. The men's team lost its top three finishers from last season's race, but come back with a strong team. Nick Katseferas, Dustin Voss, and Jim Pancoast will try to improve on their times from last year, as they finished in 31st (25:26) ), 32nd (25:27) and 39th (25:40) places, respectively.

THUS FAR

The women's team has had an impressive start to the season, finishing third in both of the team-scored events thus far. Their most recent contest was the Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. The No. 9 ranked MSU women finished in third place, outrunning the likes of No. 4 Minnesota and No. 7 Rice. Junior Alissa McKaig was the top finisher for the women, coming in ninth place overall (20:35). Senior Nicole Bush crossed the finish line shortly after in 12th, with a time of 20:40. It won't get any easier for the Spartan women this weekend, as they go up against some of the best teams in the NCAA, including six national top-30 teams.

The men's team had a good start to the year, finishing in 8th-place at the Roy Griak Invitational, but look to rebound after a 23rd-place finish at the Pre-Nationals. Max Goldak was the top finisher for the men in Terre Haute, placing 65th overall (24:15). Goldak has been the top Spartan finisher in three of the four events this season, and along with senior Jim Pancoast and junior Dustin Voss, look to lead a young team to a strong finish at the Big Ten Championships.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY

The Spartans have crowned seven Big Ten individual champions in the history of MSU, four men and three women. Danette Doetzel for the women's team was the last Spartan to finish first at the Big Ten Championships in 2004. The men have four total Big Ten Championship team wins, but have not done so since 1960. The women have won two team Big Ten Championships in school history, with the last one coming in the fall of 2001.

UP NEXT

Michigan State prepares for the Great Lakes Regional Championships, held in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 10.