MSU Cross Country: Women Place 4th in NCAA, Men 17th, Three Spartans Earn All-American Honors at Indoor T&F Nationals

Women’s Cross Country NCAA Championships

The Michigan State Spartans’ women’s cross country team raced in the NCAA Championships yesterday at the Oklahoma State University course in Stillwater, Oklahoma and battled into a fourth place finish.

Three of the five scoring runners for MSU placed in the top-50, leading Michigan State to its best-team finish since capturing the NCAA Championship in 2014. Last season, the Spartan women finished sixth in the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Indiana, tallying 209 points.

Michigan State tallied 212 points to capture the fourth-place finish. BYU won the title (96 points), while N.C. State (161 points) and Stanford (207 points) finished second and third, respectively. The Spartans were the top finisher in the Big Ten with Minnesota (239) rounding out the top-five.

The Spartans were once again led by junior Jenna Magness, who finished 16th to give the Spartans 13 points. The junior crossed the finish line with a time of 20:35.0, earning first-team All-American honors for the second time in three days. Magness impressively managed this feat after finishing seventh in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championship on Friday at the Indoor Track & Field Championship.

Seniors Lynsie Gram and India Johnson finished within a second of each other. Gram (20:52.4) and Johnson (20:53.8) finished 34th and 35th, respectively. Magness, Gram, and Johnson all garnered All-American honors for the Spartans. Makayla Perez completed an incredible sophomore campaign to finish 75th, clocking in at 21:19.6. Fellow sophomore Katie Osika was the final Spartan to score with a time of 21:30.5.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field NCAA Championships

On Friday, junior Rebecca Mammel finished eighth in the weight throw 21.69m. On her third throw of the first round, she put herself in the final with a throw of 21.24 meters. She placed herself on the podium with her first throw of the finals to capture first-team All-American honors. Mammel is the first Spartan to capture All-American honors in the weight throw since Beth Rohl in 2013.

Junior Jenna Magness was the final Spartan to compete in the women’s 5,000 meter-run. She followed the other two Michigan State athletes, Mammel and Morgan Beadlescomb, by earning first-team All-American honors. Magness finished seventh in the tightly-contested race with a time of 15:53.73. The reigning Big Ten Champion was just off her time in that race (15:51.46). She is the first MSU All-American in the 5,000m since Nicole Bush in 2008.

Men’s Cross Country NCAA Championships

On the men’s side, Beadlescomb earned All-American honors, finishing 33rd in his only cross country race of the season. He clocked in with a time of 30:40.3. Senior Joe Riordan (31:34.0) and sophomore James Uhlenberg (31:35.1) were the next two Spartan across the line, finishing 102nd and 105th. Freshman Brandon Favazza (32:08.5) and sophomore Fraser Wilson (32:16.4) were the final two MSU scorers. Uhlenberg and Favazza were running their first collegiate 10k races.

The last time both teams competed in the NCAA Championships in 2017, the women finished 15th, while the men were 25th. The finish this year marks the best combined finish in school history.

Men’s Indoor Track & Field NCAA Championships

On Saturday, senior Morgan Beadlescomb set a new Michigan State record with a third-place finish in the 5,000 meter-run. After battling through an illness mid-way through the indoor season, Beadlecomb managed to finish his Spartan career in record form, crossing the finish line with a time of 13:29.96. He broke his own school record time of 13:31.50 which he set at the Iowa State Classic in 2020. Beadlescomb is just the third Spartan to become an All-American in the 5,000m along with Jim Jurcevich and Steve Schell both in 1999.

After completing the indoor and cross country seasons, the Spartan men and women will begin outdoor season at the end of March.