Spartan Cross Country Heads to Illinois for Big Ten Championships Friday

Big Ten Championships

Date: Friday, Nov. 1
Time: Women’s 6k Race – 11:35 a.m. ET
Men’s 8k Race – 12:35 p.m. ET
All time Eastern
Location:  Orange and Blue Golf Course (Savoy, Ill.)
Live Results
 
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State’s cross country teams will travel to Savoy, Illinois for the 2024 Big Ten Cross Country Championships, hosted by the University of Illinois.

The women’s 6k race will begin at 11:35 a.m. ET, while the men’s 8k race will start at 12:35 p.m. ET.

This will be the first Big Ten Championships with the four new B1G schools Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. All 18 teams will have women’s teams in competition, while 15 teams will have men’s teams running.

The Big Ten has gotten even more competitive with the addition of the new schools, as Washington is currently ranked No. 2 in the women’s rankings, while Oregon is No. 17. Michigan State is currently ranked No. 26. On the men’s side, Wisconsin is the top Big Ten team in the rankings, standing ninth. Washington is No. 18, while the Spartans are receiving votes.

The women’s team has won the last two Big Ten championships and have captured four of the last five titles. Last season, the Spartans had a veteran group led by Makenna Veen who finished third, while Katie Osika finished fourth to capture first-team All-Big Ten honors.

The Spartan will field a much younger squad this season. Eleanor Kendall, who finished 17th last season, returns for MSU this year, along with Sarah Forsyth, Kaitlyn Hynes and Kate Stewart-Barnett. Freshman standout Rachel Forsyth will be making her Big Ten Championship debut.

Last season, the men finished third, their best finish in the conference championship race since 2017. Andrew Nolan earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition with a sixth-place finish in the race. Alexander Penski also collected second-team All-Big Ten honors after finishing in the top 14. Both Nolan and Penski are back this season to lead an experienced men’s group. New to the B1G Championships this season are Moses Osterink and Michael Hegarty.

The race will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

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