NCAA

Cross Country Aims for Nationals Berths at Regionals Friday

Cross Country Aims for Nationals Berths at Regionals Friday


EAST LANSING, MICH. – Men’s and Women’s Cross Country will continue their postseasons Friday, Nov. 10 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Madison, Wisconsin with berths to the NCAA Championships at stake.
 
In what will be the third race of the season at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, the 2023 Big Ten champion women will kick things off in the 6K at 12:30 p.m. ET with the men following in the 10K at 1:30 p.m..
 
Despite topping the conference last time on the course, the Spartan women are not automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships which will take place in Charlottesville, Virginia on Nov. 18. The top-2 finishers at each of the nine regional races taking place Friday will be granted a bid. 13 other teams will be assessed for the remaining at-large bids which will be announced in the selection show Saturday.
 
Fresh off their fourth Big Ten championship in five years, the women were picked 14th nationally in the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association poll and second in the Great Lakes Region behind just national No. 9 Notre Dame.
 
Four Spartan women earned All-Big Ten honors at the conference championships on Oct. 27, with all five scorers placing in the top 15. Senior Makenna Veen led the way in third, followed closely behind by grad-senior Katie Osika in fourth place, as the two raced to First Team All-Conference honors. Grad-seniors Lauren Freeland and Grace Molloy also collected Second Team All-Big Ten.
 
For the men, the third-place finish last time out was their best team finish at the Big Ten Championships since 2017. Senior Andrew Nolan earned First Team All-Big Ten recognition with a sixth-place finish in the race. Seniors Owen Huard and Alexander Penski also collected Second Team All-Big Ten after finishing in the top 14.
 
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Lisa Breznau was unanimously awarded Big Ten Cross Country Women’s Coach of the Year, her third time winning the honor in four years. Also collecting awards were graduate seniors Joshua Smith and Abbey Lee, who were nominated as the men’s and women’s teams’ Sportsmanship Award Winners for the season.
 
On Friday, the women will hope to win the event for the first time since 2019 while the men aim to crack the podium for the first time since winning the…

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