Lansing Sun

Freshman Rachel Forsyth of Michigan State University achieved a notable fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships, held at the University of Illinois. The event marked the first appearance of new B1G schools Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. In total, 18 women's teams and 15 men's teams competed.

Oregon secured victory in the women's 6k race with 33 points, while Michigan State finished sixth with 146 points. Forsyth's time of 19:26.2 was the fastest by a Spartan in a Big Ten Championship 6k race, narrowly surpassing Leah O'Connor's previous record from 2014. This performance earned Forsyth first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Other Spartans also delivered personal bests. Kaitlyn Hynes finished 13th with a time of 19:42.2 and received second-team All-Big Ten recognition. Kate Stewart-Barnett completed her run in 20:13.8 for a 43rd place finish, Taylor Ewert set a personal record with a time of 20:15.8 to place 48th, and Eleanor Kendall concluded the scoring for MSU by finishing in 65th place with a time of 20:35.6.

Director Lisa Breznau expressed pride in her team's progress throughout the season, noting their ability to handle competition well despite being relatively inexperienced.

In the men's category, Wisconsin claimed victory with Michigan State finishing fourth out of all participating teams. Andrew Nolan earned first-team All-B1G honors for his eighth-place finish with a personal best time of 22:59.3. Riley Hough followed closely behind in eighteenth place with a time of 23:08.4 and was named to the second team All-Big Ten.

Coach Aaron Simoneau praised his team for adhering to their race strategy and emphasized their readiness for upcoming regional meets.

Both Forsyth and Lezawe Osterink were recognized on the All-Freshman teams as top performers among freshmen competitors.

The Spartans are now preparing for the Great Lakes Regional meet scheduled for November 15 in Norton, Ohio.