Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's Rachel Forsyth has been recognized as the Big Ten Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year. This announcement came after Forsyth's impressive fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, where she set a Michigan State record with a time of 19:26.2. Her performance earned her first-team All-Big Ten honors, surpassing the previous record held by Leah O'Connor since 2014.

Forsyth, from Ann Arbor, is the first Spartan to receive this accolade since Kaitlyn Hynes in 2021 and Maggie Farrell in 2017. She is only the sixth woman from Michigan State to be named the top Big Ten rookie in cross country.

The Big Ten Conference also honored MSU senior Taylor Ewert and sophomore Parker Lambers with B1G Sportsmanship Awards for their performances. Ewert, hailing from Beavercreek, Ohio, achieved a personal-best time of 20:15.8 at the conference championships, placing her 48th overall. Throughout the season, she has consistently performed well for MSU.

Lambers has had a notable season as well. The Holland, Michigan native scored for the Spartans at the Big Ten Championships with an 8k time of 23:32.3 and set a personal best earlier in the season at Notre Dame Invitational.

Looking ahead, Michigan State will continue its postseason journey on November 15 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals in Norton, Ohio.