MSU men’s and women’s cross country teams began their season Friday at the Nike/Playmakers Spartan Invitational determined to prove they were worthy of their high preseason rankings.
But when the runners crossed the finish line and their times were made official, only one team had made a statement - the other still had something left to prove.
The race on the Forest Akers East Golf Course was plagued by annoying winds and tender footing caused by rain throughout the day. As is common for the invitational, team scores were not kept.
Still, it didn’t take long for the ninth-ranked defending Big Ten women’s champions to turn heads in the 5K race. Junior Michelle Carson battled Toledo’s senior Briana Shook and freshman Erica Moriarty early on.
But Carson took over the lead late in the race and cruised through the finish line to break the course record of 17 minutes, 8 seconds. The previous record was 17:21, set by Molly McClimon of Michigan in 1993.
The women displayed their depth by placing five runners in the top eight. Junior Jamie Krzyminski was fourth with 17:56, sophomore Natalie Stein placed fifth in 18:00, senior Cindy Durocher placed seventh in 18:11 and junior Sarah Pepera placed eighth in 18:12.
“The women looked really good. They were sharp. They ran well as a group. They pretty much executed exactly what they needed to do,” head coach Jim Stintzi said.
On the men’s side, sophomore Chris Toloff and MSU assistant coach Kyle Baker, running unattached, battled throughout the race stride-for-stride to finish in the top two spots. Baker, an All-American at MSU in 1997, claimed the first spot.
Toloff, who was the top collegiate runner at the Spartan Invitational, finished the men’s 8K in 24:45. He said he was excited to finally race again. “I’ve been training for a long time, since I redshirted track,” he said. “It felt good to get back out there, move a little, see how it feels.”
MSU also received solid performances from junior Jason Mueller, who finished fourth with 25:00, and sophomore Steve Sherer, who placed fifth with 25:13.
Other Spartans in the race included senior Andrew Alley (17th, 25:51), junior Mike Thorson (19th, 25:57) and senior Brian Wilson (22nd, 26:07).
“The men did not look particularly good - our top three ran well, after that we need to do some work,” Stintzi said. “We just didn’t race well. We’re not in panic mode, but I’m certainly not pleased with the performance.”
Next, the teams will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to compete against an elite field at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday. Stintzi said he’s looking forward to the invite.
“It will be a real good chance for the men to redeem themselves, and a chance for the women to see how good they are,” he said.
