EAST LANSING  – The Michigan State cross-country team hosted the 42nd annual Spartan Invitational last Friday.

The Spartans recorded a dominant victory for both the women’s and men’s teams placing first for the 6k and 8k race, respectively. The team scores for the women placed Michigan State in first with 25 points followed by Grand Valley State with 37 and to finish out the podium, Miami (Ohio) with 88.

Other team scores were Kent State with 130, Ferris State with 141, Northern Michigan with 148, Trine with 185, MSU Running Club with 257, Shawnee State with 268 and Muskegon CC with 315.

The women’s 6k race began at 10:00 a.m. when Miami (Ohio) took the early lead of the pack. At the 1st kilometer mark Michigan State and Grand Valley grasped the lead and maintained their positions for the entirety of the race. Senior Katie Oskia finished in first place with a time 20:54.2, beating Grand Valley State’s Lauren Kiley by eight seconds. 

The team scores for the men had Michigan State place first with 28 points followed by Grand Valley State with 52 and to finish out the podium, North Central (ILL) with 86.

Other team scores were Miami (Ohio) 105, Kent State 130, Shawnee State 169, Trine 207, Ferris State 221, MSU Running Club 294, and Clearly 326.

The Men’s 8k started with no delay at 10:40 a.m. and was a hard fought battle from the beginning. The Spartans kept a consistent pace together within the pack, trailing behind many other runners. They seized their opportunity while approaching the finish line. All MSU scorers placed in the top-10. Junior Alexander Penski claimed second place with a time of 24:43.3 for his first race of the season, behind Baidy Ba of Kent State with a time of 24:42.3 to claim an individual victory. 

With another meet under their belt the Spartans will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, Sep. 23 to compete in the Virginia Invitational.