The University of Illinois Springfield cross country teams stepped up their competition on Friday by running in the Michigan State Spartan Invitational in East Lansing, Mich. The men's team finished seven in the 23-team field, while the women's team came in tenth in a 25-team event.
 
The men's program collected 191 points, and among the teams it finished ahead of were seven regional foes and NCAA Division I Bowling Green. The host school, Michigan State, won with 48 points.
 
Blake Jones placed 13th overall, and was sixth among regional runners. He ran a time of 25:25.8 on the 8,000m course. Wyatt McIntyre finished in a time of 26:11.5, and was 52nd. Tyler Hiserote was third on the team by coming in 57th overall with a mark of 26:16. Rounding out the team scoring were Tyler Pasley in 62nd and Ryan Stark in 70th.
 
The women's team had a team score of 291, and it finished ahead of seven regional programs. Michigan State also won the women's race with a perfect score of 15.
 
Taryn Christy finished 11th overall in the individual standings. She ran a time of 21:53.9 in the 6,000m, and was second among NCAA Division II runners. Savannah Brannan was 57th overall with a time of 23:24, followed close behind by Gloria Esarco who ran a time of 23:29 and came in 65. The trio of Morgan Suttles, Sarahi Porcayo, and Kelsey Cleary were next, finishing just above the 25-minute mark.
 
UIS cross country will be off next weekend, and it will return to action on Sept. 28 at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational.