Oregon and Michigan State Earn 2025 Big Ten Men’s Cross Country Postseason Honors
Ducks’ Laadjel tabbed Athlete of the Year and Spartans’ Westphal voted Freshman of the Year
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Oregon senior Abdel Laadjel was selected as the unanimous 2025 Big Ten Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Michigan State’s Thomas Westphal as unanimous Freshman of the Year through a vote of the Big Ten head coaches, the conference announced Wednesday.
Laadjel won first place at the Big Ten Championships by seven seconds and guided Oregon to a team first-place overall finish. He also recorded a top 10 finish at the NCAA Championships with a 28:46.2 finish in the men’s 10K. He was the fastest Big Ten men’s finisher by 11 seconds.
The senior became the ninth unanimous selection for Athlete of the Year in Big Ten history and the first Duck to win the award.
Westphal had a stellar freshman season for the Spartans, as he finished third overall at the Big Ten Championships, which helped Michigan State earn a second place team finish. He also was the top finisher amongst Big Ten freshmen at the NCAAs and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times this season.
Westphal becomes the fifth unanimous selection for Freshman of the Year and the first Spartan since David Madrigal in 2011.
2025 Big Ten Men’s Cross Country Postseason Awards
Athlete of the Year: Abdel Laadjel, Oregon
Freshman of the Year: Thomas Westphal, Michigan State