Michigan State University Women's Track

Senakiewich returns to East Lansing is in her fifth year as assistant cross country and track & field coach. During the 2010-11 school year, her first season back with MSU, the team already reaped the benefits of her experience and success as a Spartan. In the fall, the women's cross country team won the program's first conference team title since 2001. The women also won the NCAA Great Lakes Region race to earn an automatic berth into the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships for the 12-straight year. Senior Emily MacLeod flourished she was named both the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Athlete of the Year for the second-straight year, and the Big Ten Athlete of the Year, winning both races in convincing manner. MacLeod capped off the season with an All-America performance at the NCAA Championships. MacLeod went on to break two school records during the track season in which Senakiewich had previously been a part of, the outdoor 5,000-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, MacLeod turned in a school-record time of 15:48.20 to place seventh overall in the 5,000-meter run, earning herself her second USTFCCCA All-America nod of the school year. In her first year out of college, Senakiewich helped then-junior Caden Shields serve as Purdue's lone representative at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships where he turned in a time of 31:13.8 for 132nd. Shields was the top male Boilermaker at all six of the competitions he ran in over the course of the fall. On the women's side, Camille Buscomb was the top individual runner at the Big Ten Championships for Purdue when she narrowly missed All-Big Ten honors, placing 17th with a time of 21:17.0, a mark which ranks sixth all time in the Purdue record books. On the track, Senakiewich played an instrumental role in the development of Sarah Klaczynski in the 3,000m steeplechase. Klaczynski was the lone distance representative for the Boilermakers at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Klaczynski qualified for the finals in Eugene, Ore., after turning in a school-record time of 10:11.17 in her preliminary race. Klaczynski became just the second NCAA qualifier for the Boilermakers in the women's steeplechase since 2004. Klaczysnki, who entered her final campaign having never placed at a conference meet or participated in a national meet, graduated a Big Ten Championship medalist and NCAA Championship finals qualifier in the steeplechase. Senakiewich earned a pair of All-America awards in 2008-09, earning fourth-place in the 5,000-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 16:28.88, and taking 27th place overall at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships, completing the 6K course in 20:33.40. She led the Spartans to a 20th-place team showing at the outdoor track and field national championships and an 11th-place team effort at the cross country national meet. She also qualified for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the one-mile run with a season-best time of 4:40.91. She completed her collegiate career with Michigan State's records in the one-mile run, the 1,500-meter run and the indoor distance medley relay. Other accomplishments from her final season included leading the Spartans to third-place team finishes at the NCAA Great Lakes Cross Country Regional Championship and the Big Ten Cross Country Championship, as well as First-Team All-Big Ten cross country honors. She also earned her third consecutive spot on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team. Senakiewich received her bachelor's degree from MSU in English with a focus in general comparative literature, and was a member of the Spartan's Dean's List for all eight semesters of college. Associate Head Lisa Senakiewich

Kinard joins the Spartan track and field program after four seasons coaching at the University of Mississippi.   In her third season in East Lansing, Kinard has already made an impact by guiding nine Michigan State entries, six women and three men, to the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Florida. Twenty-nine of the Spartans points came from Kinards athletes, leading to the womens program to its first Big Ten Championship since 1982.   Tori Franklin had a stellar NCAA Outdoor Championship under Kinards teaching, finishing fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 13.38m. Franklin repeated as the Big Ten Indoor Champion in 2015 with a leap of 13.31m. Jelisa Westney, who finished second at the Big Ten Championships in the 100-meter dash, represented Canada in the Pan-Am Games, taking bronze in the 4x100-meter relay. Westney was a two-time All-American, including earning second-team honors as part of the Michigan State 4x100 relay team that finished 12th at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Eugene, Oregon.   Kinards sprinters teamed up to set two program records at the NCAA East Preliminary a year ago. Westney teamed up with TeJuanna Williams, Alicia Evans and Lauren Rose to set a new Michigan State record in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 44.28. Westney, Evans, Franklin and Aubrey Wilberding then raced to a school-best 3:34.63 in the 4x400-meter relay, breaking a mark set back in 2012.   In 2013-14, Kinnards tutelage led Franklin to First-Team USTFCCCA All-American and All-Big Ten honors. The Spartans record holder in the triple jump represented the United States at the NACAC U-23 Championships, taking gold with a leap of 13.42m before taking fifth at the Pan-Am Olympic Festival. During the indoor season, Franklin set the Big Ten Indoor Championships record with a mark of 13.54m and was later named the 2014 Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year.   The Michigan State jumpers soared in Kinards first year on campus, highlighted by Franklins First-Team All-American performance at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a triple jump of 13.56m. Just weeks before the leap in Eugene, Oregon, Franklin took second at the Big Ten Championships in the discipline.   In addition to success off the track, Kinards athletes paced the Spartans in the relays. The 4x400-meter relay team set a MSU record at the Big Ten Indoor Championships with a time of 3:36.34 before earning Second-Team All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to contribute key points to the Spartans highest-team tally since 1983.   At Ole Miss, Kinard helped coached two triple jumpers to All-American honors and one who earned Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team recognition in 2011. Three Rebel jumpers scored at either the 2010 SEC Indoor or Outdoor Championships in addition to competing at the Junior USA Track and Field Championships the same season.   In her first season at Ole Miss, Kinnard helped coach a triple jumper to a win at the 2009 SEC Outdoor Championships, the first Rebel since 1992 to accomplish that feat. That same year, she helped an Ole Miss sprinter win the individual title in the 400 meters at the SEC Outdoor Championships and become an NCAA All-American.   Kinard was also the recruiting coordinator for the Rebels, helping bring in one of the top recruiting classes in school history. During her tenure, they signed eight of the top high school athletes from around the country.   She began her coaching career prior to the 2002-03 season where she served as an assistant coach at her alma-mater Kansas State before opting to pursue her individual career as a triple jumper.   As a collegiate jumper, Kinard began her career at Santa Monica Junior College where she was the 1995 California Junior College triple jump and long jump champion under legendary track and field coach Tommie Smith.   Kinard went on to transfer to Kansas State where she stared for the Wildcats from 1996-98. She was a six-time All-American with five distinctions in the triple jump and one in the long jump. In her first year with the Wildcats, Kinard finished second at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the triple jump, turned in a fourth place showing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and finished 10th at the U.S. Olympic Trials.   As a senior, she won a Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the triple jump, finished third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, placed fourth at the USA Outdoor Championships and took 14th at the qualifying World University Games.   Kinard continued her career by winning her first national title in the triple jump at the 2002 USA Indoor Championships, knocking off the defending champion. She then finished second in the triple jump at the 2002 USA Outdoor Championships, before repeating as national champion at the 2003 USA Indoor Championships.   Kinard has a seven year old daughter, Adyn, who has been with her since arriving at Ole Miss.

Creekmurs arrival in East Lansing in 2013. This past season, the Spartans reached high under his guidance as a trio of MSU records were matched or beaten, and Tim Ehrhardt competed in the PanAm Championships and Olympic Trials in the decathlon. Ellen DiPietro knotted the indoor high jump record of 1.83m on her way to earning a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Lauren Chorny concluded her career in the Green & White with second-team All-American honors, breaking the outdoor pole vault record with a clearance of 4.25m to finish in a tie for first at the NCAA East Prelims. Asya Reynolds was the third Spartan to take Creekmurs coaching in record-form, smashing the heptathlon program best with a tally of 5,211 points. In addition to program bests being topped, Janae Hill ran a 11.63 to qualify for the first round of the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter dash, as Will Agodu raced to a fifth-place finish with a 14.29 as a true freshman in the 110-meter high hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Creekmur saw 11 student-athletes reach the NCAA East Prelims in 2015, marking the most in a single season in his coaching career. The year was highlighted by four school records, including a pair in the womens pole vault. Ehrhardt garnered All-American accolades, both indoors and outdoors, finishing seventh in the heptathlon and fifth in the decathlon. Of the 11 Spartans at the outdoor prelims, three advanced as individuals as the school-record 4x100-meter relay team punched their ticket to Eugene. In year three, Creekmur saw his second student-athlete earn a Big Ten title, as Ehrhardt stood atop the podium at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in the pole vault. DeVantre Whitelow placed third under Creekmur at the B1G Indoor Championships, clocking a 6.75. Whitelow entered the season as the program record holder in the event with a 6.71 as a junior. Outdoors, he had a career-best 10.41 in the 100 meters to qualify for the NCAA East Prelims. On the womens side, Lauren Rose placed eighth in the 100-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships to qualify for the opening round of the NCAA Championships.   School records and All-America honors continued into Creekmurs second season at MSU. Kurt Schneider was a standout for the Spartans in the multis, finishing 10 in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 15 in the decathlon during the outdoor campaign. The efforts earned him second-team All-America status. One of Schneiders most dominant performances came at the indoor championships, where he broke the NCAA meet record in the heptathlon high jump. Lauren Chorny not only broke the program record for the pole vault outdoors, but was crowned the Big Ten champion, marking Creekmurs first league champion at MSU. Seven student-athletes reached the NCAA East Prelims, six coming in the mens and womens pole vault. In his first season on campus, Creekmur helped lead six Spartans to the 2013 NCAA East Prelims, including Sarah Birkmeier who set a career-best mark and new MSU record in the pole vault to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. For her accomplishments, Birkmeier earned USTFCCCA All-American Honorable Mention honors. Prior to Michigan State, Creekmur spent five years at his alma matter, Miami University, overseeing the vertical jumps, multi-events and throws. He helped coach three RedHawks to the NCAA East Preliminaries in 2012, one of which earned second-team All-MAC by finishing as a runner-up in the decathlon at the MAC Championships. Four of Creekmurs student-athletes earned berths in the NCAA East Preliminary in 2010-11, while two earned All-MAC honors with runner-up finishes at the MAC Championships. Creekmur successfully recruited multiple state champions and national elite level high school athletes to the RedHawks. He also designed and implemented strength training programs for all track events up to the 800m in addition to multi-events, throws and vertical jumps. A RedHawk standout, Creekmur was a four-year letterwinner (2003-06) and finished runner-up in the Mid-American Conference in the heptathlon. A second-team All-MAC honoree in 2005, he turned in an eighth-place heptathlon finish at the U.S. Indoor Nationals and a fourth-place decathlon finish at the MAC Championships his senior season. Creekmur left Miami the school record holder in the heptathlon with 5,399 points. Creekmur graduated from Miami University with Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science in 2006 and obtained his Masters of Science in Kinesiology from Miami University in 2011. He holds a USTFCCCA Jumps and Throws Specialist Certification, along with a USAW Sport Performance Coach Certification. Creekmur earned a Level I Certification from USATF, and he is a certified strength and conditioning specialist. Ceith resides in East Lansing with his wife, Alexis, and newborn daughter, Elliot. Ceith Creekmur By the Numbers Assistant Coach Ceith Creekmur

Simoneau joined the MSU cross country and track & field programs as a full-time assistant coach in December of 2014. Prior to his current position, Simoneau served as the volunteer and graduate assistant coach with the Spartans. Simoneau's primary coaching responsibilities include working with the MSU distance runners, while also serving as recruiting coordinator. Simoneau was an integral part of the coaching staff that helped lead the 2014 Spartan women's cross country team to the first-ever NCAA championship in women's program history. MSU went undefeated in its six major competitions of the 2014 season and had four individuals named to the NCAA All-American Team. The Spartan women's squad also won the Big Ten and Great Lakes Regional Championships in 2014, while the MSU men's team was the regional runner-up and finished 24th at the NCAA Championships. As a student-athlete at Michigan State, Simoneau ran cross country and track from 2007-2012. The Manistee, Michigan, native was named team captain during his junior and senior year and was a two-time national qualifier in the 3,000m steeplechase. Assistant Coach Aaron Simoneau

Maag By the Numbers: 2013 Division II Men's Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year 2013 Division II Women's Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year 2013 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year 20 NCAA Division II All-Americans 7 Individual NCAA Division II Individual Championship Titles 7 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championship Qualifiers 5 NCAA Division I Indoor Championship Qualifiers 5 Individual NCAA Division I Indoor All-Americans 4 Big Ten Individual Champions 1 All-Big Ten Performer 1 Individual NCAA Division I Outdoor All-American 1 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Blaine Maag enters his third season at Michigan State, overseeing the throwing events. He previously spent two seasons at Grand Valley State University and was honored as the 2013 Division II Men's Indoor and Women's Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year before arriving in East Lansing in 2015. Maag continued to build upon a strong first year with the Spartans by coaching a pair of indoor All-Americans in the weight throw at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. Vinny Gjokaj recorded a 21.15m (69-4.75) to finish ninth, while Connor Kostrzewa took 13th with a heave of 20.43m. In his second season with the Green and White, Maag guided a total of five NCAA Championships qualifiers (four outdoor, one indoor). Antonio James notched his third indoor All-America honor, posting a mark of 20.78m to finish 11th in the field. During the 2015 outdoor season, James set a Michigan State track & field school record in the discus to lead to a fourth place finish on the third day of the NCAA Championships. With a throw of 60.99m (200-1), James broke his own school record, which was 60.65m en route to winning the Big Ten Championship in May. Katelyn Daniels delivered an MSU and Big Ten meet record throw of 59.06 meters in the women's discus for her first career conference championship, earning 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year under Maags tutelage. Along with Daniels accolades, Cynthia Watt claimed top honors in the women's weight throw with a distance of 65.03 meters at the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. The throw set a new Big Ten Championship record, topping the old mark of 64.62m set by Ohio State's Alexis Thomas in 2012, as well as a new Ralph Young Track and Field facility record. Maags first year at MSU in 2014 saw an indoor Big Ten Championship and indoor All-American performance by James. He was the conference champion in the shot put at the Big Ten Indoor Championship with a school record distance of 19.93m (65-4.75). James went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track a Field Championships in the weight throw with a mark of 22.42m (73-6.75). James indoor campaign under Maag ended with a pair of All-American honors in the weight throw and shot put. James continued the momentum into the outdoor season, notching All-American Honorable Mention status in both the shot put and discus. During his tenure at GVSU, Maag coached 20 NCAA Division II All-Americans and seven NCAA Division II Champions, including Sam Lockhart (2013 outdoor shot put and discus, indoor shot put and weight throw and 2012 indoor weight throw title), Lauren Buresh (2012 indoor shot put title) and Liz Murphy (2012 outdoor hammer title). Lockhart also went on to compete at the 2012 USA Olympic Trials, finishing 19th in the discus. She qualified for the trials by having a discus toss of 57.11m during the Ashland Summer Series. Maag competed in throws events during his collegiate career at Ashland and was part of four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) championship teams at AU. He was named a 2008 outdoor track & field All-American in the discus, placing eighth at that year's competition. In 2010, Maag received All-American honors in the discus as well, finishing sixth. Maag graduated from Ashland University in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. Maag is from Columbus Grove, Ohio, and is married to the former Ariana Kidder. They have two daughters, Carsyn, two years old, and Kennedy, rest in Heaven. Blaine Maag Position: Assistant Coach - Throws E-mail: Blaine Maag By the Numbers: 2013 Division II Men's Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year 2013 Division II Women's Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year 2013 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year 20 NCAA Division II All-Americans 7 Individual NCAA Division II Individual Championship Titles 7 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championship Qualifiers 5 NCAA Division I Indoor Championship Qualifiers 5 Individual NCAA Division I Indoor All-Americans 4 Big Ten Individual Champions 1 All-Big Ten Performer 1 Individual NCAA Division I Outdoor All-American 1 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Blaine Maag enters his third season at Michigan State, overseeing the throwing events. He previously spent two seasons at Grand Valley State University and was honored as the 2013 Division II Men's Indoor and Women's Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year before arriving in East Lansing in 2015. Maag continued to build upon a strong first year with the Spartans by coaching a pair of indoor All-Americans in the weight throw at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. Vinny Gjokaj recorded a 21.15m (69-4.75) to finish ninth, while Connor Kostrzewa took 13th with a heave of 20.43m. In his second season with the Green and White, Maag guided a total of five NCAA Championships qualifiers (four outdoor, one indoor). Antonio James notched his third indoor All-America honor, posting a mark of 20.78m to finish 11th in the field. During the 2015 outdoor season, James set a Michigan State track & field school record in the discus to lead to a fourth place finish on the third day of the NCAA Championships. With a throw of 60.99m (200-1), James broke his own school record, which was 60.65m en route to winning the Big Ten Championship in May. Katelyn Daniels delivered an MSU and Big Ten meet record throw of 59.06 meters in the women's discus for her first career conference championship, earning 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year under Maags tutelage. Along with Daniels accolades, Cynthia Watt claimed top honors in the women's weight throw with a distance of 65.03 meters at the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. The throw set a new Big Ten Championship record, topping the old mark of 64.62m set by Ohio State's Alexis Thomas in 2012, as well as a new Ralph Young Track and Field facility record. Maags first year at MSU in 2014 saw an indoor Big Ten Championship and indoor All-American performance by James. He was the conference champion in the shot put at the Big Ten Indoor Championship with a school record distance of 19.93m (65-4.75). James went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track a Field Championships in the weight throw with a mark of 22.42m (73-6.75). James indoor campaign under Maag ended with a pair of All-American honors in the weight throw and shot put. James continued the momentum into the outdoor season, notching All-American Honorable Mention status in both the shot put and discus. During his tenure at GVSU, Maag coached 20 NCAA Division II All-Americans and seven NCAA Division II Champions, including Sam Lockhart (2013 outdoor shot put and discus, indoor shot put and weight throw and 2012 indoor weight throw title), Lauren Buresh (2012 indoor shot put title) and Liz Murphy (2012 outdoor hammer title). Lockhart also went on to compete at the 2012 USA Olympic Trials, finishing 19th in the discus. She qualified for the trials by having a discus toss of 57.11m during the Ashland Summer Series. Maag competed in throws events during his collegiate career at Ashland and was part of four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) championship teams at AU. He was named a 2008 outdoor track & field All-American in the discus, placing eighth at that year's competition. In 2010, Maag received All-American honors in the discus as well, finishing sixth. Maag graduated from Ashland University in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. Maag is from Columbus Grove, Ohio, and is married to the former Ariana Kidder. They have two daughters, Carsyn, two years old, and Kennedy, rest in Heaven.

Drenth by the Numbers:Walt Drenth was appointed as the director of the men's and women's track & field and cross country programs at Michigan State on June 2, 2006. He joined the Michigan State program as head men's cross country coach and assistant men's track & field coach in 2004.Director of T&F/CC Walt Drenth