LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course

599 S. Tabortown St.
Terre Haute, IN 47803
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Located just a few miles east of the city of Terre Haute, the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course is the centerpiece of the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.

Sitting on the site of a reclaimed coal mine, the course was the vision of late Indiana State University head track and field and cross country coach, John McNichols.

LaVern Gibson donated the land for the course and the development of the facility. Indiana State and Boston Celtics basketball star Larry Bird made a donation to the facility in honor of his father, Joe Bird, and the donation was matched by Max and Greg Gibson in the name of their father and grandfather, respectively.

Ground was broken in the summer of 1995 with the first race, the Indiana Intercollegiate, conducted in October 1997. The course has hosted the Great Lakes Region meet seven times (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2017, 2018, 2022), the Missouri Valley Conference Championship four times (2000, 2002, 2011, 2022) and the Indiana Intercollegiate seven times (1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015).

The NCAA awarded the site the 2002 Division I Men's and Women's National Championship, the first of 13 such honors for Indiana State. The course went on to host the NCAA Championship eight straight years (2004-2011) and then again in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019. The NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships will return to the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in 2026, while the course has also been the host site for two NCAA Division III National Championships (2012, 2024).

Much of the course's popularity is due to its challenging, yet manageable, mix of uphill and downhill sections and its simple straightaway start that stretches for nearly the first kilometer before a turn. For spectators, no other course matches in LaVern Gibson's ability to see nearly the entire race from the right perch -- a nice perk for TV crews coming to broadcast the meets as well.

IMPROVEMENTS

Since first breaking ground in 1995, the course has seen many different improvements and modifications.

• Finish line building and press box — 1998
• Irrigation system down the main straightaway — 1999
• Permanent fencing down the main straightaway — 2002
• Permanent fencing along the course — 2003
• Concession stand/bathroom facilities — 2003
• Bleacher seating down the main straightaway — 2010
• Enclosed finish line chute with field turf lining — 2016
• New awards stand area, featuring the old pillars from the historic Terre Haute House
• Start line structure — 2019
• Climate-controlled medical building south of the finish line — 2022

COURSE RECORDS

Women's 5K

16:52.2 - Erica Palmer, Wisconsin, 1999 NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Women's 6K

19:28.1 - Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech, 2008 NCAA Championships

Men's 8K

22:51.3 - Samuel Chelanga, Liberty, 2008 Pre-National Invitational

Men's 10K

28:41.3 - Samuel Chelanga, Liberty, 2009 NCAA Championships