Michigan State Set to Host 2026 NCAA Cross Country Great Lakes Regional Friday

Friday, November 13

East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State University

NCAA Great Lakes Regional

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MSU Women's Cross Country huddles before meet

11/12/2026 4:16:00 PM | Cross Country

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NCAA Division I Great Lakes Regional Championships
Date: Friday, Nov. 13
Time: Women's 6K – 10:00 a.m. ET | Men's 10K – 11:00 a.m. ET
Location: Forest Akers East Golf Course (East Lansing, Mich.)
Great Lakes Regional Media Hub

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Postseason cross country arrives on the banks of the Red Cedar this Friday, Nov. 13, as Michigan State hosts the 2026 NCAA Division I Cross Country Great Lakes Regional at Forest Akers East Golf Course.

Hosted in partnership with the Lansing Sports Commission, the championship event marks the first time in program history that MSU will serve as the host institution for an NCAA Regional meet. Championship racing gets underway on Friday morning with the women's 6K race at 10:00 a.m. ET, followed by the men's 10K race at 11:00 a.m. ET.

The top two finishing teams in each race automatically punch their tickets to the 2026 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana, with additional individual national championship bids awarded to the top four finishers not on an advancing squad.

HISTORIC HOST: FOREST AKERS EAST CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
While Friday marks Michigan State's debut as an NCAA Regional host, Forest Akers East Golf Course carries one of the richest championship running traditions in collegiate athletics. The grounds served as the host venue for seven consecutive NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championships from 1958 to 1964 and have hosted six Big Ten Championship meets. The rolling, open fairways provide visiting programs with a true championship test while offering the Spartans unmatched home-course familiarity after opening their season on the exact same layout at September's Spartan Invitational.

THE FIELD: BATTLE FOR TERRE HAUTE TICKETS
The Great Lakes Regional represents one of the most competitive fields in the country, bringing together more than 30 Division I programs across Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Pacing the men's field are regional heavyweights No. 12 Wisconsin, alongside No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 21 Michigan State, Butler, Notre Dame, and Indiana. On the women's side, national contenders No. 13 Notre Dame, and Wisconsin headline an elite field that features Big Ten foes Michigan and Indiana. With automatic NCAA qualification bids strictly reserved for the top two team finishers, both races demand aggressive positioning and disciplined pack spreads from the opening gun.

LAST TIME OUT: BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Michigan State enters Friday's regional carrying strong momentum from the Big Ten Championships in Verona, Wisconsin. The Spartan men captured third place overall on the podium, keyed by a tight scoring spread that featured top-35 finishes across the board. Sophomore Thomas Westphal paced the Green and White in fifth place (23:16.1), followed by senior Riley Hough in 12th (23:20.3) and junior Moses Osterink in 23rd (23:38.7). Junior Michael Hegarty placed 25th (23:42.9), sophomore Jasper Cane took 28th (23:47.6), freshman Beckett Crooks earned Big Ten All-Freshman team honors in 31st with a personal-best 23:49.2, and senior Parker Lambers crossed in 34th (23:51.1).

On the women's side, MSU battled through an 18-team field to finish ninth overall with 238 points, paced by strong pack running from its scoring contingent. Freshman Klaire Eighner led the Spartans across the line in 14th place (20:13.1) to secure All-Big Ten Second Team and All-Freshman Team accolades, followed by junior Taylor Pangburn in 35th (20:37.9). Sophomore Maya Ledesma crossed in 64th (21:01.8), while senior Abrielle Schweitzer rounded out the primary pack in 72nd (21:04.8).

SPARTANS TO WATCH: CHAMPIONSHIP LINEUPS
The No. 21-ranked Spartan men step up to the championship 10,000-meter distance fielding an experienced lineup anchored by the seven-man rotation that delivered a podium finish at Big Tens. Westphal and Hough lead the charge up front, aiming to leverage their course knowledge from prior races at Forest Akers East to set the tone early. Veteran scorers Osterink, Hegarty, Cane, and Lambers provide essential postseason composure across the extended laps, while Big Ten All-Freshman honoree Crooks, junior Seth Norder, and freshmen Aiden Pengally and Kyle O'Rourke give the Green and White elite depth and versatile scoring options over 10K.

On the women's side, freshman standout Eighner lead s the Green and White over 6,000-meters following her All-Big Ten Second Team performance. She is joined by fellow freshman standout Kaitlyn Reese, who brings significant momentum into her regional debut after capturing an individual victory at the EMU Fall Classic to earn USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week honors. Pangburn adds vital front-running experience after pacing MSU on this very course during September's Spartan Invitational, while Ledesma and Schweitzer are joined by key contributors seniors Paige Marchant and Allison Cornell, graduate student Chloe Wall, sophomore Allie Nowak, senior Katrina Ford, and Sarah Forsyth to give the Spartans a deep, battle-tested pack ready to capitalize on their home terrain.

UP NEXT
Teams and individual runners who qualify out of the Great Lakes Regional will advance to the 2026 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The complete 32-team championship fields and individual at-large selections will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Saturday, Nov. 14.