Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's cross country teams are set to conclude their season at the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. The event will take place on Saturday, November 23, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.

The Michigan State women's team has secured a spot in the NCAA Championships for the 24th consecutive year. They received an at-large bid following a fourth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regionals held in Norton, Ohio. The women aim to break into the top-10 rankings for the first time in four years and strive for their first national title since winning it back in 2014.

On the men's side, Michigan State also placed fourth at the Great Lakes Regionals but narrowly missed an at-large invitation. However, Riley Hough will represent the men individually as he makes his debut appearance at the National Championships.

The competition will feature a 6K race for women starting at 10:20 a.m. ET and a 10K race for men beginning at 11:10 a.m. ET. The awards ceremony is scheduled to start around noon ET.

This year's championship course is familiar territory for Michigan State athletes as they previously competed there during the Wisconsin Pre-National Meet on October 19.

In their recent performance on November 5 at the Great Lake Regionals, Rachel Forsyth led Michigan State's women by finishing second with a time of 19:31.7, while Kaitlyn Hynes came seventh clocking in at 19:46.3; both earned All-Region honors.

Riley Hough delivered an impressive performance by finishing seventh in his men's 10K event with a time of 29:26.9—the best-ever Spartan result in this category during an NCAA Regional race—surpassing his previous year's mark of 30:36.1 significantly.

Last season saw Michigan State's women finish sixteenth under All-American Katie Osika's leadership when competing in Charlottesville, Virginia; they return without any scoring members from last year yet hope to improve upon that outcome this time around.