Women’s Cross Country, Nolan Ready for NCAA Championships

EAST LANSING, MICH. – Michigan State women’s cross country and senior Andrew Nolan of the Spartan men’s team are set to compete at the 2023 NCAA Championships in Charlottesville, Va. on Saturday, Nov. 18.

The women’s 6K and men’s 10K races will both be held at the historic Panorama Farms cross country course, with the women starting at 10:20 a.m. ET and the men beginning at 11:10 a.m. ET. The races will be broadcast on ESPNU.

The Spartan women will compete in their 23rd-straight NCAA Cross Country Championship as a team and hope to improve upon last year’s result, while Nolan will aim for All-American honors in his first NCAA Cross Country Championships race in what is the culmination of the cross country season.

The Big Ten champion women’s team was awarded an at-large bid to compete at the NCAA Championships while senior Andrew Nolan was selected as an individual, as was announced in the selection show on Saturday, Nov. 11. 

Grad Katie Osika (33rd), senior Makenna Veen (115th), junior Kate Stewart-Barnett (164th), grad Lauren Free­land (166th), grad Grace Molloy (175th) and senior Emily Bardwell (200th) all return from last year’s team that placed 20^th at the National Championships in Stillwater, Okla., many with improved personal best 6K times in 2023.

For the second time in the last three years, seven Spartans between both teams claimed All- Region honors at the Great Lakes Regional last time out on Nov. 11 in Madison, Wis., the 13th time in the last 15 seasons with six-plus earning the accolade.

While the women placed third and the men fifth in the region, Osika (3rd), Veen (4th), Freeland (10th) and Bardwell (22nd) earned the All-Region honors while Nolan ensured his individual bid to the NCAA Championships. Also clinching the honor, Penski and grad Josh Smith concluded their breakout seasons.

During the regular season the Spartan women raced the Panorama Farms 5K course at the Virginia Invitational on Sept, 23, placing 7th.