Cross Country: EMU Fall Classic Preview
10/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's and women's cross country teams will travel to the Eastern Michigan University Fall Classic on Friday afternoon, Oct. 24, to compete in their final event of the regular season before next week's Big Ten Championship meet. The race will be held at Hudson Mill Metro Park in Dexter, Michigan.
"This is an important meet for us for a variety of reasons," said Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth. "The primary reason is we've got young athletes that we will lean on heavily over the course of the next few years that we want to see perform. A lot of the athletes that will run are younger athletes and this race will allow them to see how much progress they've made this season."
The MSU women's squad will be running in their first race since taking over the top spot in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll on Tuesday. The Spartans overtook previous No. 1 Michigan after a dominating performance at the Wisconsin Invitational last Friday as they picked up their third team win of the year. Sophomore Rachele Schulist notched her second runner-up finish of the season with a time of 19:39 and was named the Big Ten Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for the second time this season on Tuesday as well. For the year, Schulist has placed in the top five in all four events she has competed in, including a season-opening victory at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Oregon on Sept. 5.
The Spartan women weren't the only team making a splash in the national polls on Tuesday. After finishing 15th in a highly competitive field at the Wisconsin Invitational, the Michigan State men jumped nine spots to No. 22 in the latest coaches' poll. The Spartans also maintained their No. 4 ranking in the NCAA Great Lakes Region. Junior All-American Caleb Rhynard has recorded a trio of top-three finishes to lead the squad, earning Big Ten Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors back on Sept. 30. Teammate Nick Moon also took home the award back on Sept. 2 after winning the Central Michigan Jeff Drenth Memorial.
Tomorrow's meet will begin at 4 p.m. with the women's 5K race, followed by the men's 5K race at approximately 4:30 p.m.
