MADISON, Wis. — Michigan State and Michigan both came away from the Big Ten Cross Country Championships on Friday with top-six team finishes and a handful of all-conference runners, two weeks before the NCAA Great Lakes Regional comes to East Lansing.
The Spartan men were the best of the in-state teams, scoring 90 points for third place in the 8-kilometer race behind champion Oregon at 23 points and host Wisconsin at 62. Michigan State was runner-up a year ago when the meet was held in East Lansing.
Thomas Westphal, the reigning Big Ten freshman of the year, ran with the lead pack for much of the race and placed fifth in 23:16.1 for his second straight first-team all-conference award. Riley Hough was 12th in 23:20.3 to make the second team again, and Beckett Crooks made the all-freshman team.
Michigan men took fifth of 15 teams with 133 points. Senior Nathan Lopez was sixth in 23:17.0, just behind Westphal, and also landed on the first team, while all five Wolverine scorers placed in the top 38.
On the women side, Michigan finished sixth of 18 teams with 171 points, its best league finish since 2023. Graduate student Penelopea Gordon was 19th in 20:17.0 and became the first Wolverine to make an all-conference team since that season. Oregon runner Diana Cherotich won in a meet and course record of 18:56.1 as the Ducks repeated as team champions.
The Michigan State women were ninth with 238 points, led by freshman Klaire Eighner, who ran a personal-best 20:13.1 to land on the second team and the all-freshman team. Both programs return to action on Nov. 13, when the Spartans play host to the regional on their Forest Akers East course.
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