KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center will be the place to be next Fall with three high profile collegiate events highlighting the 2011 Indiana State University cross country schedule which was released today.

The 2011 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's National Cross Country Championships will be returning to the Indiana State course on Monday, Nov. 21, marking the eighth straight year and the ninth time in the last 10 years that the championship has been held in Terre Haute.

The 2011 Indiana State Cross Country Pre-National Invitational will be held on Sunday, Oct. 16, while the Sycamores will also host the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Sunday, Oct. 30. Both events are normally held on Saturday's but were moved to Sunday's due to scheduling conflicts.

The Pre-Nationals falls on the same weekend as the Indiana State University Homecoming while the MVC Championships falls on the same weekend as the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Championships which are also held at the LaVern Gibson course.

Indiana State was selected in December to host the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships for the eighth straight year and the ninth time in the last 10 years. The host for the national championships also hosts the pre-national invitational each year. The 2011 and 2012 championships were originally scheduled to be competed at other venues before returning to Indiana State in 2013. The University of Louisville has been designated as the site of the 2012 Championship.

“When the schedules for the 2011 fall sports seasons were established, we did not expect to be hosting the national championship,” Geoff Wayton, Meet Director of Championships for Indiana State, said. “We welcome this opportunity, however, and are thankful that the NCAA has the confidence in us to return the championships to the Terre Haute community.”

The tentative schedule for the Pre-Nationals will have the Men's 8,000 Meter Blue Race run at 11:00 a.m. followed by the Men's 8,000 Meter White Race at 11:40 a.m. The Women's 6,000 Meter Blue Race will start at 12:20 p.m. followed by the Women's 6,000 Meter White Race at 12:55 p.m. The final two races will feature the Men's 8,000 Meter Open Race at 1:30 p.m. followed by the Women's 6,000 Meter Open Race at 2:10 p.m.

The 2011 season will mark the third time that the Sycamores will be the host to the Missouri Valley Conference championship. The tentative schedule calls for the men's 8,000 meter (8K) race to be run at 11:00 a.m. with the women's 5,000 meter (5K) race at approximately 12:00 p.m.

The 2011 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will be held on Monday, November 21, with the Men's 10,000 Meter Race starting at approximately 12:08 p.m. followed by the Women's 6,000 Meter Race at approximately 12:48 p.m.

Indiana State hosted the NCAA Championship for the first time in 2002 and was named the host from 2004 thru 2010. The championship was scheduled to be moved to two other sites before returning to Indiana State in 2013.

The LaVern Gibson Cross County Championship course is no stranger to hosting premier cross country events. In addition to the NCAA National Championship for nine of the last 10 years, the course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center has hosted the largest gathering of collegiate cross country athletes in the nation with the Pre-National Invitational.

Indiana State has also hosted the NCAA Men's and Women's Great Lakes Region Championship four times and was nominated to be the host of the 2012 Region Championship which was awarded to Wisconsin. ISU has also hosted the Indiana Intercollegiate Men's and Women's Championship five times and will be the host for the 2012 event.

In addition, the course has hosted the Indiana High School Athletic Association state championship and the Midwest Regional Qualifying meet for the Nike Cross Nationals.

The Pre-Nationals Intent To Compete form is available at http://www.gosycamores.com//quest/Questionaire.dbml?QID=22849&DB_OEM_ID=15200&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=15200&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT=

2011 INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE

Saturday      Sept.       3        Evansville Mid-America Opener                         11:00 AM                Evansville, Ind.

Friday            Sept.     16        Indiana Intercollegiate Championship                3:30 PM          Bloomington, Ind.

Friday            Sept.     30        Notre Dame Invitational                                           3:30 PM            South Bend, Ind.

Sunday         Oct.       16        ISU Pre-National Invitational                              11:00 AM           Terre Haute, Ind.

Sunday         Oct.       30        MVC Championships                                              11:00 AM           Terre Haute, Ind.

Friday            Nov.        4        Hoosier Invitational                                                    3:30 PM          Bloomington, Ind.

Saturday      Nov.      12        Great Lakes Region Championship                    12:00 PM                    Toledo, Ohio

Monday       Nov.      21        NCAA Division I Championships                         12:00 PM           Terre Haute, Ind.