STILLWATER, Okla. – Highlighted by an All-American finish from graduate student Katie Osika, Michigan State cross country wrapped up the season at the NCAA Cross Country Championships Saturday morning at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Osika, who finished 33rd overall, earned her first All-American honor of her career. In 112th place through three kilometers, she moved up 79 spots over the second half of the race to secure the second-team nod in 20:11 for 6k. Osika becomes the 30th Spartan to earn All-American honors for the Michigan State women in cross country.
Junior Makenna Veen followed in 115th place, running 20:43, while sophomore Kaitlyn Hynes placed 125th in 20:46 for the third sub-21 performance of the day for the Spartans. Sophomore Kate Stewart-Barnett set a personal best in 21:02 for 164th place. Senior Lauren Freeland placed 166th in 21:03 to round out the scorers for Michigan State.
Graduate student Grace Molloy placed 175th in 21:07 and junior Emily Bardwell finished in 21:20 for 200th.
The MSU women finished 20th in the team race with 497 points. NC State claimed the team title for the second year in a row (114), followed by New Mexico (140) and Alabama (166). NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy took the individual title.
On the men’s side, graduate student CarLee Stimpfel and senior Aden Smith recorded top-200 finishes in their first NCAA championship appearances. Stimpfel completed the 10k course in 30:46 for 172nd place, while Smith ran 30:47 for 174th.
Northern Arizona (83) won the team title on a tiebreaker against Oklahoma State, followed by BYU (132). Charles Hicks of Stanford claimed the individual title.
The Spartans return to action with the indoor track season, set to begin in December.
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