MSU Cross Country Teams Win the 40th Annual Jeff Drenth Memorial

Both the men and the women ran 5k races.

The women got the action going first, finishing first with 38 points, just ahead of Western Michigan with 39 points. Meghan Beute was the top attached finisher, crossing the line in 17:31.2. Cookie Baugh was the seventh overall finisher with a PR time of 17:44.6. Ella Christensen was right behind her in eighth with a time of 17:45.4. Running in her first race at MSU, Morgan Brown was 10th (17:50.4).

The Spartan men won with 46 points with Patrick Byrnes taking the top spot among attached runners.  Byrnes set a new personal best in a 5k race with a time of 14:47.30. Brady McArdle was seventh with a PR time of 14:57.80, while Drew Seabase was ninth (14:58.50). Nathan Larson (15:08.10) and Evan Loughridge (15:08.30) finished 15th and 16th, respectively.

The Jeff Drenth Memorial is named after the late Jeff Drenth, brother to MSU’s former Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth. Jeff, who passed away while training in 1986, is a member of the Central Michigan University Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame. 

The Spartan women begin the season ranked No. 17 in the USTFCCCA preseason coaches’ poll. Michigan State is also ranked No. 3 in the Great Lakes Region. The MSU men are No. 30 in the preseason coaches’ poll, while standing No. 4 in the Great Lakes Region poll.

Michigan State is back in action on Friday, Sept. 12, hosting the Spartan Invite/B1G Preview.