Michigan State cross country closed out the Big Ten’s weekly awards slate in style on Wednesday, with the Spartans claiming three of the conference’s final four honors.
The headliner was Kaitlyn Reese, who swept Big Ten Women’s Athlete of the Week and Freshman of the Week. Gus Rohde also picked up Big Ten Men’s Freshman of the Week, giving Michigan State a strong finish to the regular-season award cycle.
Reese made program history with the double dip. She became the first runner in Michigan State history to earn both Big Ten Women’s Athlete and Freshman of the Week in the same week. She is also the first Spartan to win Women’s Athlete of the Week since senior Taylor Pangburn on Sept. 16, and the first MSU runner to take Women’s Freshman of the Week since Madison Osterberg on Oct. 29, 2025, after the EMU Classic.
Her recognition came on the heels of a big day at the EMU Fall Classic on Friday, Oct. 23, in Dexter, Michigan. Racing at Hudson Mills Metropark, Reese won the women’s 5k in a personal-record 17:42.9, edging Michigan’s Keaton Robar in the final stretch for her first regular-season collegiate victory.
That effort helped lead the Spartan women to the team title with 25 points. Two days before the Big Ten honor, Reese was also named the NCAA Division I National Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA.
Rohde earned his first Big Ten honor of the season after leading Michigan State’s men at the same meet. The redshirt freshman from Reed City, Michigan, finished second overall and was the top attached collegiate runner in the men’s 5k with a personal-best 15:05.8. His run helped the Spartans place four runners in the top seven.
Rohde’s award was the second Men’s Freshman of the Week nod for Michigan State this fall, joining Beckett Crooks on Sept. 16. In all, Reese and Rohde pushed the Spartans to six Big Ten weekly honors this season, alongside Pangburn, Crooks, junior Jasper Cane and sophomore Thomas Westphal.
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