SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Indiana State men's and women's cross country teams will head to South Bend, Ind. this Friday to compete at the Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame.
 
The races will be hosted at Burke Golf Course and begin for the Sycamores at 2:30 p.m. ET with the combined men's 8K and women's 5K open race. Following the open race, ISU will compete in the Women's 5K Gold Division Race at 3:15 p.m., followed by the Men's 8K Gold Division Race at 4:00 p.m.
 
On the men's side, the Gold Division Race will feature 13 Division I programs, with the Sycamores entering the race at No. 10 in the Great Lakes Region. In addition to Indiana State, there will be three other regionally ranked schools including Baylor (No. 10, South Central Region) and regional rivals Youngstown State (No. 11) and Central Michigan (No. 12). Calvin College, ranked eighth overall in Division III, will also be competing in the gold race. During their last outing at the John McNichols Invite the Indiana State men took second place overall, falling only to Purdue. Akis Medrano put on a spectacular performance to lead the ISU men in the 8K race. The Boswell, Ind. native ran neck-and-neck with the top two Purdue runners and ultimately finished third overall with a time of 24:59.0. His time tied Geoff Wayton for the 14th-best Sycamore 8K time at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
 
Running second for the Sycamores and 18th overall was sophomore Isaac Bentz who posted a time of 26:03.9. Bentz was followed closely by freshman Nick Yeend in 20th place. The freshman clocked a personal-best 8K time of 26:07.4. The Sycamore underclassmen continued to get the job done for the men, as freshman Noah Hufnagel took the fourth scoring spot, finishing 22nd at 26:10.5 and sophomore Cam Trout ended in 32nd for the fifth and final scoring spot with a time of 26:43.5.
 
The women's Gold Division race will include 16 Division I schools with the Sycamores entering the meet ranked 14th in the Great Lakes Region. Duquesne enters as the only other regionally ranked team (No. 14, Mid-Atlantic Region), but Division III No. 12 Calvin College will be competing as well. At the John McNichols Invite the ISU women placed fourth overall and were led by junior Alli Workman, who put on a strong performance in the 5K, crossing the line with a time of 18:16.6. Her time is the fourth-best time by a Sycamore runner at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
 
Brooke Moore was the second scorer for ISU, placing 16th with a time of 18:45.7 and the 13th-fastest Sycamore time at LaVern Gibson in the 5K. Not far behind her was the freshman Jocelyn Quiles who took 19th overall, recording a time of 18:49.9 for the 15th overall 5K time by a Sycamore at LaVern Gibson. Also making her way into the record book was junior Michaela Ward. Ward took 20th at 18:52.3, which is tied with teammate Colleen Madden for the 16th-fastest time by an ISU woman at the course. Claiming the fifth and final scoring spot for the women was freshman Maggie Falater who raced across the finish line in 48th place, claiming a time of 20:05.1.
 
The events begin at 1:00 p.m. ET with the Women's Blue Division Race and continues with the Men's Blue Division Race at 1:45 p.m. Following the open race will be the Gold Division, starting with the women at 3:15 p.m. and ending with the men at 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.