MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Against some of the best competition in the country, the Michigan State men's and women's cross country teams both recorded top-5 team scores at the 35th Roy Griak Invitational on Friday morning at Les Bolstad Golf Course.
 
Highlighted by five Spartans getting in the top-25, the No. 26 MSU men's team totaled 86 points to finish in third, as No. 3 BYU won the Griak title and No. 10 Iowa State took second.
 
Senior Morgan Beadlescomb used an 8K time of 24:18.5 to take home third place individually, trailing only defending NCAA Champion Conner Mantz of BYU and NCAA third-place finisher Wesley Kiptoo from ISU. Sophomore Brendan Favazza was not far behind the leaders, posting a time of 24:57.7 to take 14th.
 
MSU had three men finish in a pack, as redshirt juniors Abdi Ahmed (25:07.7) and Fraser Wilson (25:08.7), along with senior John Petruno (25:11.1), took 23rd, 24th and 25th, respectively. Junior Aden Smith placed 34th with a 25:22.2 time, while sophomore Andrew Nolan crossed at the 25:27.3 mark for 39th, and senior Steven Stine ran a 25:36.1 time that placed him 47th.
 
The women for MSU barely missed out on the top-3 spots, with their 101 points putting them fifth as a team, one point behind third-place Tennessee and fourth-place Liberty. Host and No. 10-ranked Minnesota captured the women's title, while No. 30 Iowa State grabbed second.
 
Seniors Jenna Magness and Lynsie Gram once again paced the Spartan women, as Magness (20:59.6) finished just 1.7 seconds behind the winner, Iowa State's Cailie Logue, to take second in the 6K event, beating out the likes of Minnesota's Bethany Hasz who finished eighth at the NCAAs last season. Gram registered a time of 21:15.1 to grab 13th, while redshirt junior Makayla Perez made her season debut with a 25th-place finish at 21:51.0.
 
After running unattached at the Spartan Invitational last week, freshman Kaitlyn Hynes wore the Green and White on Friday to post the 27th-best time at 21:55.2. Junior Katie Osika (22:07.7) and redshirt freshmen Eleanor Kendell (22:18.8) and Makenna Veen (22:24.8) rounded out MSU's finishers in the top-50, as Osika took 34th, Kendell placed 44th and Veen was the 50th woman to cross the finish line.

"Morgan and Jenna did a fantastic job of following the race plan against top competition," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lisa Breznau. "They are both leaders and veterans who understand the length of the season. We have solids packs on both sides after Jenna and Morgan as well, with Brendan, Abdi, Fraser, and John P on the men's side, and Lynsie, Makayla, Kaitlyn and Katie on the women's side. At this meet, and beyond, it was important for our teams to trust the plan and stay steady as we progress through the season."
 
Friday was the first time the Spartans raced in the Griak Invite since 2017. MSU had gone to the meet every year from 2013-17.
 
Michigan State continues its slate next Friday, Oct. 1 at the Notre Dame Invitational before taking a week off in preparation for the Nuttycombe Invitational on Oct. 15 in Madison, Wisconsin.