Oct. 11, 2012

WATCH: Cross Country Preview

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State Cross Country will continue its season as part of the team heads to the Wisconsin adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis., while some athletes travel in-state to the Jayhawk Invitational in Muskegon, Mich., on Friday, Oct. 12.

Competition for the Wisconsin Invite begins at 1:45 p.m. ET at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course. The Jayhawk Invite is slated to begin at 2 p.m. ET at the University Park Golf Course.

In total, 20 men's and 20 women's teams ranked in the USTFCCCA national coaches' poll are slated to participate in the highly competitive field of the Wisconsin adidas Invitational. The venue will also be the same course used for the 2012 Cross Country NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships.

Where We Rank
In the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) weekly poll, the women find themselves ranked 10th after their strong performance at the Greater Louisville Classic. Regionally, the women continue to sit at second in the Great Lakes Region standings. This mark's the highest ranking for the women since Nov. 4, 2008, when MSU was also ranked No. 10 nationally.

On the men's side, MSU is currently fifth in the USTFCCCA Great Lakes regional rankings.

Conference Recognition
Redshirt freshman Andrew Cusmano and redshirt senior Katie Haines of the Michigan State cross country team were both been named Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Week by the conference office on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Both individuals finished tops for the Spartans at the Michigan Intercollegiate Championships to earn the honors.

Last Time Out
MSU took to the course for the 2012 Michigan Intercollegiate Championships hosted by Hillsdale College. The women placed first overall as a team in the 5k, while the men did not post a team score in the 8k, due to running only four individuals.

Redshirt freshman Andrew Cusmano won the race with a time of 25:04.90. Redshirt junior Travis Borchard was close behind with a career-best time of 25:11.40, good for a second-place finish.  Following Borchard was redshirt freshman Eric Buday who finished third with a time of 25:55.30. Rounding out the top-five was redshirt freshman Dan Egner, fifth-overall to cross the finish line in 29:04.70.

Senior Katie Haines had a first-place overall finish with a time of 17:36.90. Next to cross the finish for MSU was redshirt sophomore Angela Swain, who placed second overall in a time of 17:52.40. Redshirt junior Meggan Freeland placed fourth overall with a time of 18:07.30, while redshirt sophomore Abbey Kelto finished in 18:11, good for fifth-place.

Next Up
The Spartans will travel to Dexter, Mich., on Friday, Oct. 19 for the EMU Fall Clasic hosted by Eastern Michigan. Racing begins at 4:30 p.m. at Hudson Mills Metropark.