Michigan State University Athletics
Cross Country Teams Ready for NCAA Regionals
11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 13, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
•Sarah
•Adam
The Michigan State cross country teams will head to West Lafayette, Ind. and Purdue University for this Saturday's (Nov. 15) NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. The women's race will begin at 11 a.m. ET while the men's race will follow at 11:45 a.m.
"We're focused on going in and getting the win because it gives you the easy bid to the NCAA Championships," said senior Sarah Price. "We have to remember we can't run ourselves into the ground because, hopefully, we have to come back nine days later (at the NCAA Championships) and put in our top performances."
The women's team is coming off a third-place finish at this year's Big Ten Championships. Senior Nicole Bush became the fourth Spartan to win the individual championship and was awarded the conference's Cross Country Athlete of the Year honors just days later. Along with Bush, fellow senior Lisa Senakiewich also earned All-Big Ten accolades. As a team, the No. 10 ranked Spartans, who are also first in the Great Lakes Region, have two first-place finishes this season (Colonial Inter-Regional and Notre Dame Invitational).
Last season, the women's team finished first at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet.
The men's team enters Saturday's race as the fifth-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.
"Our focus is to be top-two and beat teams that have placed well earlier in the season so we can get ourselves into Nationals," said senior Adam Sprangel.
The men are coming off a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and have been paced by sophomore Spencer Beatty who has been the top Spartan finisher at three meets this season, including the conference championships (20th).
Last season, the men's team placed sixth at the regional meet.
The top-two teams from each of the nine regions automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships which are held November 24 in Terre Haute, Ind. 13 at-large teams will also receive bids.
Individually, the top-four that are not part of a qualifying team will receive invitations to compete in the NCAA Championships along with two at-large selections.
Players Mentioned
