MSU women’s cross country finish first at EMU Fall Classic

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MSU women’s cross country finish first at EMU Fall Classic/ Photo Credit: MSU Athletic Communications

Jake Lyskawa, Cross Country/Track & Field Beat Reporter

EAST LANSING — The Michigan State cross-country team wrapped up its regular season with a first-place finish by the No. 23 women’s team at the EMU Fall Classic on Friday.

The Spartan women placed three runners in the top 10 and seven runners in the top 20. They finished 78 points ahead of second-place Windsor on a sunny afternoon in Dexter, Michigan. 

Junior Madison Price was the top Spartan finisher. She finished in fourth place with a PR time of 17:55. It was the second time this season that Price finished first for Michigan State, previously doing so at the Lansing Invitational on Sep. 30.

Seniors Abigail Lee (18:04) and Alison Ziehl (18:05) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, to round out the top 10 for Michigan State. Both finished with personal-best times. 

Sophomore Abbey Carvey (12th/18:17), junior Kaya Kuokkanen (17th/18:39), junior Julia Bajt (18th/18:43) and senior Annika Linzmeier (19th/18:43) all finished in the top 20 for the Spartans. Sophomores Avery McLean (21st/18:51) and Tess Piper (26th/19:09) finished just behind them. 

Carvey, Kuokkanen, Bajt and McLean all recorded personal-best times.

Freshmen Meghan Beute (3rd/17:21), Madison Foster (9th/18:06), Megan Randall (11th/18:11), Katie Carothers (23rd18:56), Chloe Wall (24th/19:06), Reese Powers (25th/19:08) and Sarah Coyne (29th/19:33) all ran unattached.

The Spartan men had two attached representatives compete on Friday, sophomore Gage Killewald and junior Hunter Zartman. 

Killewald took 20th place with a time of 16:02 in the 5k race, tying his personal-best time. Zartman finished right behind him in 21st with a PR time of 16:09. 

Freshmen Parker Lambers (3rd/15:02), Matthew Zeleke (5th/15:16), Owen Gilbert (11th/15:32) and Timothy Cherry (12th/15:36) all ran unattached. 

Petronela Simiuc of the Very Nice Track Club ran a time of 16:50 to take the individual title in the women’s race. Unattached Michigan athlete Ian Hill won the men’s race in a time of 14:56.

With the regular season in the books, Michigan State now turns to the Big Ten Championships on Friday, Oct. 28, in Ann Arbor. The women’s race will begin at 10:45 a.m. The men’s race will follow at 11:45 a.m.