EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State men’s and women’s cross country/track and field programs both ended the 2021-22 season with rankings among the top-15 in the final standings for U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Program of the Year, the USTFCCCA announced on Tuesday.
The MSU women came in at No. 13 with 91 points in the final rankings for the Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award, while the Spartan men were 15th for the John McDonnell Program of the Year Award with 102.5 points.
Head coach Lisa Breznau‘s women’s program was the best among Big Ten schools, with top-40 finishes in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. A 16th-place finish by the Spartans at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships and All-American accolades for Jenna Magness kicked off the campaign for the MSU women.
Magness then tallied First Team All-American honors by placing sixth in the 5000m at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships, while pole vaulter Sophia Franklin picked up Second Team All-American status, helping MSU place 40th at the indoor national meet.
Franklin and Magness both then captured First Team All-American honors at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships last week, as Magness took home the bronze medal in the 10,000m finals and Franklin placed seventh in the pole vault. Makayla Perez tacked on a Second Team All-American finish in the 10,000m race to help the Spartans finish the outdoor championships tied for 30th.
On the men’s side under Breznau and head men’s cross country coach Aaron Simoneau, the Spartans also posted three Top-40 finishes and were the second-best Big Ten program behind ninth-place Wisconsin. A fifth-place finish from Morgan Beadlescomb at the NCAA Cross Country Championships made him an All-American for the third time in cross country and propelled the Green & White to 30th at the national championships to open the campaign.
Beadlescomb continued his dominance into the winter, finishing as the mile runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships to add another First Team All-American honor to his resume. He then earned Second Team All-American distinction in the 5000m later the…
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