TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? The Indiana State women's cross country team will head to Peoria, Ill., on Friday afternoon to compete in the 4th annual Bradley Classic.
A total of 15 teams will compete in the event at Detwiler Park, with the first race set to begin at 5:15 p.m. (ET). The Sycamores have not competed since Oct. 3, when they ran to a ninth place finish in the Gold Division Race at the Notre Dame Invitational. Senior Heather Stembridge continued her strong fall season by placing 21st overall with a time of 18:15. She was followed by junior Kayla Alexander in 28th place in a time of 18:21 and freshman Kacie Klem in 47th place with a time of 18:39.
“I think the meet will be challenging, yet I think we will be able to compete with the best teams there” said head coach John Gartland. “Conference rivals Bradley, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa will all be there and that should give us a good idea of how we stack up against some of the other teams in the conference. In addition, Iowa State will be running their ?A' team and they should be at or near the top.”
After competing in three previous races at the 5,000 meter distance, the Sycamores will run a 6,000 meter race at the Bradley Classic. This meet will also be the team's last before competing in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship on Nov. 1 in Springfield, Mo.
“This will be our first time running at the 6,000 meter distance this year,” said Gartland. “That might affect some of the women on our team, but I think most of them are well prepared. Our main goal is to build some positive momentum heading into the conference meet. We will also be looking to find a fifth runner to really complete our squad. We have been very strong one through four in our previous meets, but our fifth runner and beyond have been a bit behind. If we can find someone to run closer with the rest of the pack, that will be a huge factor for us to do well at the Valley meet.”
