Talbot’s Title Boosts Spartans into Third on Day Two of Big Ten Championships

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Spartan Track and Field tallied more points at day two of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Saturday, with top performances such as Ryan Talbot’s decathlon title boosting the men into third in the team standings.
 
With 24 points, the second most in conference on the day, the Spartan men sit in third with now 34 total points after finishing 11^th overall at the conference indoor championships in February. The MSU women are currently in 11^th with eight points.
 
Talbot becomes the first conference Champion season for the Spartans, winning the decathlon title for the second time in his career, also doing so in 2022.
 
The graduate student from Novi, Mich. claimed first in the two-day competition behind a season-best score of 7,535. Talbot’s score comprised of wins by two feet and two seconds in the shot put and 400m dash respectively on day one as well as a second-place finish by .001 seconds in the 100m dash. On day two, he padded his lead with top-three finishes in the javelin and 110m hurdles, also winning the discus on a crucial 42.38-meter final throw.
 
In the men’s 3000m steeplechase that concluded the day, senior Andrew Nolan navigated obstacles and a final sprint to claim second in the event with an 8:45.33 personal record. Senior Tyler Pritchett finished sixth, adding on even more points for Michigan State. In the women’s edition of the race, junior Sophia Lucki also scored on the podium with a sixth-place finish behind a 10:31.17 PR.
 
Also locking in points in the late afternoon was the 2023 MSU Athletics George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year, graduate student Heath Baldwin. Right after securing a spot in the 110 hurdles finals and points for MSU tomorrow, the Kalamazoo, Mich. native placed sixth in the long jump finals, tying a PR leap of 7.59m.
 
So marks three total events that the decathlon Olympic hopeful will have fastened points for Michigan State in, also placing fourth in the javelin on day one Friday. Baldwin, forgoing the decathlon in preparation for the NCAA Championships and the U.S. Summer Olympic trials, hones in on five total events on the weekend, as he will also compete in the high jump and the 4x100m relay tomorrow.
 
Walk-on senior Shae Harbaugh also punched her ticket for a spot in the finals and points tomorrow, placing eighth in the 800m trails with a…