Redshirt senior Leah O’Connor led Michigan State women’s cross country to its second straight and fourth Big Ten title in five years this weekend in Iowa City, Iowa. The Big Ten Championship was the first leg of the postseason competition for MSU.

The women came in first place with 26 total points and the team put four runners in the top ten, more than any other team. The score is the third-lowest in Big Ten history.

O’Connor led the group with a career-best and course record setting time of 19:26. Rachele Schulist (19:54) came in third and Lindsay Clark (19:59) in fourth. Julia Otwell (20:04) followed in seventh and 2012 Big Ten champ Sara Kroll (20:18) finished 11th to round out the scorers for MSU.

The men’s team finished fifth overall with a total of 117 points in the 8K race. As usual, Caleb Rhynard led the team, finishing in fifth place at 23:47. Sherod Hardt (24:14) was the next Spartan in 22nd, Alex Wilson (24:16) finished in 27th. Ben Miller (24:20) and Ben Carruthers (24:21) came in close at 30th and 31st to round out the scorers.

Alexa McCarthy is the host of the Last Leg for Impact Sports.

Photo: @MSUTrackFieldXC