Men's Teams

Cross Country, first run as an intramural competition in 1907 and as an intercollegiate competition in 1910, has historically been Michigan State’s most successful men’s sport; especially during a four-decade period spanning roughly 1930-1970 during which the Spartans won eight NCAA championships and numerous IC4A

IC4A

IC4A or ICAAAA is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year....

 and Big Ten titles. Having outgrown the MIAA

MIAA

MIAA may refer to:* Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association, defunct college athletic conference* Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association, high school athletic conference for private schools in the Baltimore Metro area...

, then Michigan Agricultural College initially ran cross country as an independent.

Between WWI and WWII, Michigan State College competed in the Central Collegiate Conference, winning titles in 1926-1929, 1932, 1933, and 1935. Michigan State also experienced success in the IC4A, at New York’s Van Cortlandt Park

Van Cortlandt Park

Van Cortlandt Park is a park located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the fourth largest park in New York City, behind Pelham Bay Park, Flushing Meadows Park and Staten Island Greenbelt....

, winning 15 team titles (1933–1937, 1949, 1953, 1956–1960, 1962, 1963, and 1968). Since entering the Big Ten in 1950, Michigan State has won 14 men’s team titles (1951–1953, 1955–1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1970 and 1971). Michigan State hosted the inaugural NCAA cross country championships in 1938 and every year thereafter through 1964 (there was no championship in 1943). The Spartans won NCAA championships in 1939, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1959. The following coaches led Michigan State to major titles: CCC (Morton Mason, Lauren Brown), IC4A (Lauren Brown, Karl Schlademan

Karl Schlademan

Karl A. Schlademan was the Kansas Jayhawks' fourth head basketball coach in an interim capacity for the last game of the 1919-20 season for Phog Allen....

, Fran Dittrich, Jim Gibbard), Big Ten (Karl Schlademan, Fran Dittrich, Jim Gibbard), and NCAA (Lauren Brown, Karl Schlademan, Fran Dittrich).

Men's Individual Champions

Individual champions include: CCC (Lauren Brown 1927, 1929; Clark Chamberlain 1930, 1931; and Tom Ottey 1932, 1933); IC4A (Clark Chamberlain 1930; Tom Ottey 1933, 1934; Ed Bechtold 1935; Ken Waite 1936; Henry Kennedy 1955, 1956; and Crawford Kennedy 1957-1959); Big Ten (Henry Kennedy 1955, 1956; Crawford Kennedy 1959; and Gerald Young 1960). Athletes who ran cross country at Michigan State and also made Olympic rosters in various events include Tom Ottey (USA), Warren Druetzler (USA), Lyle Garbe (Canada), and David Lean

David Lean

Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...

 (Australia).
In addition to champions listed previously, the following MSU athletes achieved All-American status at the NCAA championship (those listed are unofficial prior to the award’s creation in 1948, but based on the same criteria):

• Dick Frey (1938, 1939)
• Roy Fehr (1939)
• Ralph Monroe (1941)
• Walter Mack (1941, 1945)
• Robert Price
  Robert Price
  Robert Price or Bob Price may refer to:*Robert M. Price , American theologian and writer*Robert M. Price , American computer scientist and business executive, CEO of Control Data Corporation...
  
   (1944)
• Walter Kalmbach (1944)
• Jack Dianetti (1946, official 1948)
• William Mack
  William Mack
  William Mack was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Cornwall from 1879 to 1883, Cornwall and Stormont from 1886 to 1890 and Stormont from 1890 to 1894 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member.He was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1828, the son of Robert...
  
   (1948, 1949)
• Warren Druetzler (1948–1950)
• Don Makielski (1949, 1950)
• Jim Kepford (1950, 1952)
• Wayne Scott
  Wayne Scott
  Wayne Scott is a politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives for the Republican Party until 2009, representing House District 39, which includes the communities of Barlow, Beavercreek, Canby, Mulino and Oregon City. He was House Minority Leader...
  
   (1951, 1952)
• Ron Barr (1951)
• John Walter
  John Walter
  John Walter , founder of The Times newspaper, London, was born in London and educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood....
  
   (1952)
• Lyle Garbe (1953)
• Gaylord Denslow (1955, 1956)
• Terry Block (1955)
• Selwyn Jones
  Selwyn Jones
  Selwyn Aldridge Jones is a former defensive back who played six seasons in the National Football League.-References:...
  
   (1955, 1956)
• Henry Kennedy (1955, 1956)
• Ron Wheeler (1956)
• Crawford Kennedy (1957–1959)
• Robert Lake (1958)
• William Reynolds
  William Reynolds
  William Reynolds may refer to:*William Reynolds , American movie and television actor*William Reynolds , English football defender of the 1890s...
  
   (1958–1960)
• Gerald Young (1959, 1960)
• Richard Sharkey (1963)
• Ken Lenowicz (1968)
• Ken Popejoy (1970)
• Herb Lindsay (1974, 1976)
• Anthony Hamm (1988–1991)
• Ian Smith
  Ian Smith
  Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
  
   (1991)
• Kyle Baker
  Kyle Baker
  Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man....
  
   (1997)

Women's Teams and Individual Champions

Women’s cross country competition commenced in 1974 as a club sport and gained varsity

Varsity

Varsity, a term originally derived from university, may refer to:In geography:*Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada*Varsity Lakes, Queensland, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia...

 status in 1975. Michigan State won Big Ten championships in 1981 (coach John Goodrich), 2001 (coach Jim Stintzi) and 2010 (coach Walter Drenth)and finished in the top 15 at the NCAA championship eight times (1981, 1999, 2001, , 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008), making this decade tops in the history of the program. Individual Big Ten champions include Misty Allison (1991), Michelle Carson (2002), Danette Doetzel (2004), Nicole Bush (2008), and Emily MacLeod (2010).
In addition to champions listed previously, the following MSU athletes achieved All-American status at the NCAA championship:

• Anne Pewe (1981)
• Jill Washburn (1981)
• Karen Campbell-Lutzke (1981)
• Mary Shea (1988)
• Misty Allison (1991)
• Stephanie Dueringer (1996)
• Ann Sommerville (2000)
• Michelle Carson (2002, 2003)
• Danette Doetzel (2004)
• Alissa McKaig (2006)
• Michelle Rafferty (2006)
• Nicole Bush (2007, 2008)
• Lisa Senakiewich (2008)

External links

• http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/c-xc/msu-c-xc-body.html