OXFORD, Ohio - The Indiana State men's and women's cross country teams are set to begin their season on Friday as they head east to Oxford, Ohio for the Miami Opener.
 
The women's race, which kicks off at 3:20 p.m. ET, will feature Indiana and Miami alongside the Sycamores, who are ranked 12th in the preseason USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region rankings and were picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference. Last season, the Sycamore women earned a 13th place finish at the regional meet with 376 team points, their best point total since 2001. Brooke Moore returns for the Sycamores this season after redshirting last cross country season, and Jessi Conley, Megan Doty, Colleen Madden, Michaela Ward and Alli Workman all return for the ISU women.
 
The Sycamore women won't be the only regionally ranked team to compete on Friday, however, as the Hoosiers enter ranked fourth in the Great Lakes Region and the Redhawks are ranked 10th in the Great Lakes.
 
"The women's 13th place finish last year was our best team finish since our first year in the Great Lakes Region in 1997. The ladies raced extremely well on our home course and will be excited to enter this season ranked 12th. We have big shoes to fill with Taylor Austin graduating but we return Brooke Moore from her redshirt season and the rest of the varsity lineup returns. Nobody will be surprised to see us shooting for a top 15 spot because I think we could realistically push for top-10 at the Great Lakes Regional for the first time in school history. Juniors Colleen Madden, Alli Workman, and Michaela Ward put in a great summer of work and we will see how much we've improved as the season progresses this fall," Walsh said.
 
Much like the women's race, the men's side of the competition will feature two regional powerhouses as well. Beginning at 4:00 p.m., the Sycamore men, who are entering the meet ranked 11th in the preseason USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region rankings and were picked to place third in the MVC, will take the track against Indiana and the host Miami. The ISU men finished 18th in the region last year after placing second in the conference. Akis Medrano led the way at the regional meet, placing 57th in the 10K with a time of 32:15.10. The men also return Isaac Bentz, Ryan Cash, Blake Kramer, Quentin Pierce and Cam Trout.
 
While the Sycamore men may be ranked 11th in the region, both Indiana and Miami enter ranked in the Great Lakes Region as well. The Hoosiers will take the course ranked fourth and the Redhawks are not far behind them in eighth.
 
"The men had a letdown at this meet last year following an exceptional conference meet tying Bradley for MVC Championship," Walsh said. "Placing 2nd due to a tie breaker left a sour taste in our mouths and the guys came out too aggressive in the NCAA Regional 10k and faded hard the final kilometers. We have strong firepower up front returning four of the top five from last year's squad with outdoor 10k champ Akis Medrano leading the way. Quentin, Ryan Cash, and Cam Trout all scored big points in the track season and will look to lead this team back where we want to be among the top 10 teams in the Great Lakes Region."
 
Competition begins on Friday at 3:20 p.m. with the women's 6K race, followed by the men's 8K race at approximately 4:00 p.m.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Cross Country teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.