Cross Country Women Receive At-Large Bid to NCAA Championships

Nov. 15, 2009

EAST LANSING, Mich. - A day after the men earned an automatic birth to the NCAA Championships, the Michigan State women's cross country team received an at-large bid to the Championships. The women are one of 13 teams to receive at-large bids, and will be joined by six other Big Ten schools - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State. The 2009 Championships will mark the 11th-consecutive appearance for the women.

The strong performance at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional is what earned the women their bid, led by junior Emily MacLeod (Loveland, Ohio). MacLeod became the fourth Spartan to place first at the NCAA Regionals. Her time of 20:42.70 also made her the second-consecutive Spartan to finish first. For the Big Ten Conference on the men's side, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin will be joining the Spartans.

The men were led at the regional by junior Patrick Grosskopf (Corunna, Mich.) who finished with a time of 31:12.98. Grosskopf's fifth-place finish is also the best individual finish for a male runner since 1995. As a team, the men turned in their best team finish all-time at an NCAA Regional, with a second-place overall finish.

The team saw six Spartans named to the All-Regional team, three men and three women. For the men, Grosskopf, junior Spencer Beatty (Harbor Spring, Mich.) and sophomore Josh McAlary (Jackson, Mich.), while MacLeod, junior Carlie Green (Milford, Mich.) and sophomore Rebekah Smeltzer (Monroe, Mich.) were recognized for the women.

The Spartans will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 23, when they travel to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Races are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. and will be shown live on VERSUS.