MSU Cross Country Set to Host Spartan Invite
9/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Meet Information | MSU XC Notes | Inclement Weather Plan | Live Results
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State cross country program returns to the course looking to defend its home turf at the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational on Friday, Sept. 18, at the Forest Akers East Golf Course. The women's 6,000-meter race takes off at 11:50 a.m., with the men's 8K following at 12:20 p.m.
"The opportunity to host a home meet, especially one of this size, is important to us," said head coach Walt Drenth. "We don't run a lot of meets, so we have to be in a competitive state of mind as much as possible. It also gives us a chance to test some people before we really have to get to work. We have to be hitting on most of our cylinders because we start making a case for ourselves for the NCAAs when we go to Minnesota in another week."
Last time out, redshirt freshman Erin McDonald and redshirt junior Molly Jeakle recorded a pair of top-five finishes at the Jeff Drenth Memorial in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, on Sept. 4. McDonald, who ran unattached a year ago, improved her time by nearly 68 seconds, running a 17:23.92. The first-place effort garnered her Big 10 Conference Runner of the Week honors. Jeakle rounded out the top five with a time of 18:23.
On the men's side, redshirt senior Austin Wissler led MSU with a seventh-place performance, clocking a 16:00.99. Sophomore Tommy Osika was in close pursuit, crossing the line in eighth with a time of 16:05.50.
"Erin McDonald is certainly someone that can help us," Drenth said. "We held a lot of people out of that meet (Jeff Drenth Memorial Race on Sept. 4), so it will be interesting to see how everyone integrates this weekend. This will really be our first test with everyone on the course."
The women's program dropped one place to No. 4 in the country in the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. The men remained at No. 28 in the season's second poll, making the Spartans one of just three Big 10 members to have both programs ranked in the top 30.
"Growth is our focus for this meet," said Drenth. "For coach (Lisa) Senakiewich, coach (Aaron) Simoneau and myself, we are looking to assess our team in a competitive dynamic and see where our room for growth is. Training is a big part of our process, but this environment will give us a better understanding of where people's strengths and weaknesses are."
Joining MSU from the Big 10 on Friday will be the men's teams from Illinois and No. 11 Michigan. Other notables that will be appearing at the event include: Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ferris State and Grand Valley State.
After the conclusion of the collegiate races on Friday, more than 170 high school programs will compete across four different divisions. The event is expected to see more than 8,000 runners take off from the start line on Friday.
"It is a great way to show off the university," Drenth said. "This is a community event and is one of the bigger meets in the country. We are proud that people continually want to come and run in it. It is quite a spectacle."
Results of the collegiate race can be found on MSUspartans.com and TFRRS.org. High school and middle school results will be available at playmakers.com.
Players Mentioned
