Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Wisconsin adidas Invitational
Cross Country Concludes Action at Wisconsin adidas Invitational
10/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 2, 2010
MADISON, Wis. - The Michigan State cross country team concluded action at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 2 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wis. Overall, the women placed third with 109 points, while the men were sixth with 191 points. Six of the top 30 teams in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) poll were featured in the race. The women topped three of the five ranked teams they faced in the race.
The women opened the day strong for the Spartans as MSU saw senior Emily MacLeod place second overall with a personal-best time of 20:15.8, 1.4 seconds behind Charlotte Browning of Florida in first (20:13.4). Junior Carlie Green gave MSU its second top-10 finisher when she placed eighth overall with a career-best time of 20:26.7. The Spartans were the only team to place two runners in the top-10 overall on the women's side. Junior Rebekah Smeltzer was the third Spartan, and 30th overall, to cross the finish line when she crossed in 20:52.0.
Placing just behind Smeltzer in 31st was sophomore Katie Haines when she turned in a time of 20:52.1. Round out the top five Spartans, and event scorers, was freshman Sara Kroll when she clocked in at 20:58.4 for 38th place.
The women entered the race ranked 20th in the weekly USTFCCCA poll. Ranked teams the Spartans finished ahead of include No. 7 Florida, No. 22 Michigan and No. 26 Wisconsin. No. 11 Syracuse and No. 29 North Carolina were the only teams MSU trailed as SU took first place with a team score of 89 points and UNC was second with 98 points.
Senior Patrick Grosskopf paced the men with his 30th-place time of 24:10.4. Senior Aaron Simoneau was just behind Grosskopf in 32nd with a 24:12.7 mark. Sophomore Ben Miller clocked a time of 24:16.8 to finish 35th.
Seniors Spencer Beatty and Alex Russeau rounded out the top-five Spartans with times of 24:24.1 and 24:25.4, finishing 45th and 49th, respectively. The men were ranked 18th in the weekly USTFCCCA poll heading into the weekend. As a team, Indiana was first with a team score of 49 points. Donn Cabral of Princeton took home medalist honors with a time of 23:29.0.
The Spartans return to action next weekend when they travel to the Michigan Intercollegiate Championships hosted by Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. Action begins at 3:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
