Michigan State Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country Rank 18th in Final Program of the Year

 

Spartans finish year 18th nationally, and second in the Big Ten. Photo courtesy of MSU SID.

 

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its Terry Crawford Women’s Program of the Year award, and the Michigan State women's track & field and cross country programs ranked 18th nationally in the final rankings. The Spartans were one of two Big Ten teams on the Terry Crawford Program of the Year award list.

In the fall, MSU won the NCAA Great Lakes Regional by 16 points over second-place Michigan, its first since taking titles in 2006 and 2007. Michigan State placed three in the race's top 11 at the regional meet. The Green and White also captured its third Big Ten title in school history, and first since 2001, when it topped second-place Wisconsin by 14 points. At the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Spartans concluded their 2010 season with a 23rd-place showing with a score of 481 at the year-end race.

Senior Emily MacLeod once again paced the Spartans with an All-American time of 20:48.1 to place 37th overall. With her top-40 placing, MacLeod earned USTFCCCA All-America honors for the first time in her cross country career, and second overall. She is just the 16th All-American in program history, and 14th different individual.

At the indoor track & field championships, sophomore Beth Rohl served as MSU's lone female representative last weekend. For Rohl, she not only became the first Spartan female weight throw All-American, but also the first field athlete in school history. A native of New Buffalo, Mich., Rohl finished eighth overall in the competition with a toss of 19.80m. This marked Rohl's second All-America honor as she earned the distinction following the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the discus throw. Due to Rohl's performance, MSU placed 57th overall with one point.

Capping of the school year at the outdoor championships, the Spartans had a pair of first-team All-America selections in MacLeod and Rohl.

MacLeod capped off her stellar career with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000-meter run. MacLeod turned in a school-record time of 15:48.20 for the second top-10 finish in the event in her career. MacLeod smashed former Spartan Nicole Bush's time of 15:54.26 set in 2009 by 6.06 seconds.

Rohl was the first Spartan to complete action during day one as she posted a sixth-place toss of 55.39m in the women's discus. The New Buffalo, Mich., native sat in fourth heading into finals after she recorded a distance of 53.88m during the third round. Rohl moved into third overall with her best toss of the night (55.39m) during her first round of the finals.

Macleod and Rohl were joined by senior Ashley Lawrence and freshman Ashley Stacey as second-team and honorable mention selections, respectively.

Lawrence narrowly missed out on qualifying for the finals in the women's discus throw after she placed 10th overall in the event. The Troy, Mich., native recorded her best toss of the night of 52.54m during round three to finish only 0.36m out of the finals in 10th. This marks Lawrence's first All-America selection in her career.

Stacey made her NCAA Championships debut in the women's long jump. After fouling on her first attempt, Stacey posted a leap of 5.91m on her second try. The Riverdale, Ill., native was wound up placing 23rd overall in the competition.

Rohl was also a second-team recipient in the hammer throw as she finished the competition ranked 13th overall with a 58.67m. Competing in the first flight of the competition, Rohl was forced to see if she would advanced to the finals as she was seventh in flight one. Rohl's mark did not stand up after the second flight as she wound up dropping to 13th.

MSU ended the outdoor championships tied for 44th with five team points.

The Spartans were joined Penn State in 17th as the two conference representatives in the final women’s rankings. Winning the award for the third-straight season was the University of Oregon.

A total of 18 programs scored at each of the NCAA’s championships in 2010-2011; however, none of the squads recorded top-ten finishes in each of the three meets.

The Terry Crawford Women's Program of the Year Award is named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer and former Cal Poly head coach Terry Crawford. Crawford has won five NCAA National Championships, and over 20 Conference Championships. Her 1986 Texas squad remains as the only NCAA women's program to ever win the Triple Crown (cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field titles).  

The NCAA Division I Program of the Year Awards are awarded annually to the most outstanding cross country/track & field programs. The award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finish at the NCAA Division I Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each NCAA Division I Championship in cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award recipient. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.