EUGENE, Ore. – On the final day of the B1G Track & Field Championships, Michigan State Track & Field earned four podium finishes at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday.
“I thought we had some really great performances and breakthroughs. We still have people that are learning how to compete at this level and learning what it takes not only this week but year round,” Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lisa Breznau said. “I am super proud of a number of people throughout the week. All of our scorers, I think, did a tremendous job of staying focused and just simply trying to be at their best and not worrying about the outcome. We will continue to build a group that knows how to compete.”
Rachel Forsyth continued her strong freshman campaign finding the podium twice on Sunday. After finishing fifth in the 3000m at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, she earned another fifth-place finish in the 1500m with a time of 4:15.70. She was among the leaders of the pack for the whole race with Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan pulling away in the final few meters, winning in 4:11.66.
Less than two hours after the final of the 1500m, Forsyth was back at it again in the 5000m final. She stayed in the main pack throughout the race. Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz pulled away winning the race in a meet record time of 15:37.11. Forsyth ran a confident race, setting a new personal best (15:43.81) to finish fifth. Her previous personal best was 15:47.04 at the Virginia Challenge in April. With her two fifth-place finishes on the day, Forsyth earned eight points for the Spartans.