Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Senior Nicole Bush put the finishing touch on an outstanding cross-country season by finishing 5th in the NCAA National Championship meet, earning All-American status with a 6000-meter time of 20:13.4, missing the school-record for the meet by a scant 3-10ths of a second. The 6K is roughly 3.84 miles and Bush's mile pace was roughly 5:16.
Her 5th place individual finish led the Michigan State women to a 5th place team finish, the second best showing ever for the Spartans, topped only by the 4th place finish in 1981 at the first-ever NCAA women's championships.
The improvement by Bush from last year to this year's All-American run was dramatic. She finished 3rd among the Spartan runners last year in 78th place with a time of 22:09, only 4 seconds shy of a full two minutes slower.
Bush was followed by junior Alissa McKaig (50th in 21:22), junior Sarah Price (82nd in 21:37), senior Lisa Senakiewich (90th in 21:44) and sophomore Emily MacLeod (94th in 21:45). Not scoring this year were two more sophomores-Becky McCormack (115th in 21:54) and Ashley Casavant (199th in 23:12).
It is important to note that the difference between the finish of McKaig and Price amounted to 32 places but only 15 seconds. Missing from the race was the Spartans' strong 5th runner, senior Katie Kelly, who was out with a back injury. Had Kelly been available, the Spartans could have done even better.
Things are getting better and better for Michigan State's running fortunes, especially when you know all of the women team members will be returning next year.
Anita Arndt-Molis continues to impress as Michigan State's Associate Head Coach in charge of all middle distance and distance runners. Last year the Spartan women were 12th in the NCAA Championship run.
Can the Spartan women improve even more? You decide with just the knowledge of these three facts:
1) Last year Alissa McKaig finished 9th overall in 21:07; this year was not her day as she was 50th in 21:22.
2) Sarah Price was 137th last year and 82nd this year.
3) Nicole Bush was only 3 seconds behind the eventual winner-Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech-at the 2K mark, only 20 seconds behind her at the 4K mark and 43 seconds behind her at the end. More strength training, increased confidence from this year's showing, and increased experience and maturity can close the gap to an individual national championship considerably.
Clearly, Nicole Bush must now be considered among the emerging elite middle distance runners nationally, and a prospect for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
For the record, Stanford won the 2007 NCAA women's title followed by Oregon, Florida State and Arizona State. With their 5th place finish, Michigan State's women left Big Ten champion Minnesota (12th) and Great Lakes Regional runner-up Michigan (21st) in the dust.
The Spartan men's team, which finished 17th at last year's NCAA Championships, did not quality for this year's final run. Their season ended with the Great Lakes Regional Championships and a 6th place finish behind Michigan and Wisconsin (which tied for 1st), Notre Dame, Indiana and Ohio State. Sophomore Max Goldak led Michigan State with a 23rd place finish.
The Spartan men ran well as a pack (about a 64 second spread between the 1st and 5th runners) but not fast enough to push their way to NCAA qualification.
The Spartan women refused to run behind by successfully defending their Great Lakes Regional title, besting Michigan by 3 points led by Nicole Bush's runner-up finish. All five Spartan scorers were among the top 25 finishes, a precursor to their outstanding NCAA performance.
For the record, Michigan State's women were 2nd at the 2007 Big Ten Conference finals, barely nipped by Minnesota by a single point. This kind of finish underscores the importance of all 7 runners on the team, not just the first 5 finishers who figure in the team scoring. When a team's 6th and 7th place runners finish ahead of another team's 5th scorer, the impact is more than significant.
The men placed well out of the money at the Big Ten finals, finishing 7th. They run well in a pack but either the entire pack has to get faster or someone needs to separate from the pack and become the leader, pulling the others along faster. The speed of the group benefits from the speed of the leader.
The Wisconsin Badgers won the men's 2007 Big Ten title for the 9th consecutive year by placing their first 5 finishers among the top 15. You read it right, 9 consecutive titles; Wisconsin did it by recruiting winners. They have created a winning environment that attracts successful prep runners. Period, end of story.
(Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-Part Article.)
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