Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's men's and women's cross country teams are set to conclude their regular season at the EMU Fall Classic. The event will take place at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter, Michigan, on Friday. Hosted by Eastern Michigan University, the competition will feature a women's 5k race starting at 4:30 p.m., followed by the men's 5k at 5 p.m.

The Spartans recently participated in both the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals and the Bowling Green Invitational. This meet provides another opportunity for a group of runners to compete before heading into the Big Ten Championships.

Regional schools such as Eastern Michigan, Michigan, and Oakland will participate alongside Chicago State.

Leading the Spartan women is Mia Rogan, who achieved a personal-best time of 18:53.4 in a 5k race at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. Allison Chimielewski also recorded a personal record at the same event with a time of 18:05.7. Abbey Carvey has shown strong performances in recent meets as well.

On the men's side, Matt Zeleke is among those competing. He set his personal best earlier this year with a time of 16:00.9 at the Jeff Drenth Memorial in August. Gage Killewald slightly outpaced Zeleke with his own personal best of 16:00.8 during that event.

After completing this meet, Michigan State's teams will shift focus to preparing for the Big Ten Championships scheduled to be held in Champaign, Illinois, hosted by the University of Illinois. The Spartan women aim to defend their title after winning back-to-back championships and four out of five recent competitions. Last year, the men secured third place.