2019 MVC Championships
Date	Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 | 11:30 a.m. ET
Location	Valparaiso, Ind. | Sunset Hill Farm County Park
Meet Info	Meet Notes | Championship Central | Live Results | Watch (Men) | Watch (Women)
XC Records	Records
National Rankings	Top-25 Men | Top-25 Women | Men's Individual | Women's Individual
MVC Info	Preseason Poll | XC Home | Records | Men's Perf. List | Women's Perf. List
XC News	USTFCCCA | Track & Field News
Social Media	@IndStTrackField | @SycamoreTrack | @SycamoreTrack

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Indiana State cross country will make the trip north to Valparaiso on Saturday with the goal to bring home some hardware at the Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships.
 
Action will get started at the Sunset Hill Farm County Park at 11:30 a.m. ET with the men's 8K race while the women's race will follow at approximately 12:30 p.m. ET. Both races will be streamed live on ESPN3.
 
AT THE STARTING LINE
Indiana State will hit the road on Saturday for the climax of the 2019 season, the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Valparaiso will play host this year, as the race will take place in Valparaiso, Ind., at the Sunset Hill Farm County Park. This will be Valparaiso's first time hosting the MVC Cross Country Championships since joining the league and second MVC Championship overall, as they hosted the women's golf championship in April 2019.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
The Sycamores look to improve upon their position in the MVC preseason poll, where both the men and women were tabbed fourth, this weekend at Valparaiso. Brooke Moore will look to lead the women's side, building off of last season's runner-up finish, while sophomore Noah Hufnagel will once again try to pace the men. During the 2018 championship, both the Bradley men and women were named the MVC Champions.
 
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL
MEN
1. Bradley - 78 (6)
2. Drake - 67 (3)
3. Loyola - 61
4. Illinois State - 56
5. Northern Iowa - 40
6. Indiana State - 37
7. Valparaiso - 35
8. Southern Illinois - 22
9. Evansville - 9
 
WOMEN
1. Loyola - 97 (7)
2. Bradley - 93 (3)
3. Illinois State - 77
4. Indiana State - 65
5. Missouri State - 60
6. Northern Iowa - 49
7. Southern Illinois - 46
8. Drake - 31
9. Evansville - 17
10. Valparaiso - 15
 
NO MORE RUST
After not completing a full race since the Crusader Open in September, redshirt senior Brooke Moore came back with a vengeance at the Bulldog Invitational last weekend.  Moore crossed the line as the first-place scorer and third overall with a time of 17:52.5. She was followed by Moriah McCormick who took 19th, clocking a time of 19:22.8.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Sycamore women took the course at Northview Church in Carmel, Ind., for the Bulldog Invitational last weekend. ISU ended up taking fourth in the meet, falling to Illinois State (56), Butler (53) and Marquette (48). Brooke Moore led the way with a time of 17:52.50 and Moriah McCormick placed second in 19th at 19:22.8.
 
CAREER DAY AT LAVERN
In potentially her last meet at LaVern Gibson, senior Michaela Ward had the best 6K race of her career at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational. Ward led the Trees in 38th place in the White Division Race with a personal-best time of 22:08.90, the 14th-best time in school history. On the men's Noah Hufnagel had an outstanding day for the Trees at Pre-Nationals, leading the Sycamore delegation with a ninth-place finish and 19th-best time by a Sycamore at LaVern Gibson, clocking in at 25:12.50.
 
THE BIG LEAGUES
The Under Armour Pre-National meet boasted some of the best teams in the nation with 11 ranked teams on the men's side including BYU (2), Colorado (3), Washington (4), Ole Miss (8), Oklahoma State (14), Indiana (15), Iona (21), Eastern Kentucky (25), Arkansas (27), Virginia Tech (29) and Florida State (30). The women hosted 10 nationally-ranked teams like BYU (2), Colorado (3), Michigan (7), Washington (8), Boise State (11), Florida State (11), Ole Miss (17), Illinois (20), Boston College (26) and Oklahoma State (30).
 
BEST FOR LAST
Sycamore senior Alli Workman was the leading woman for the blue and white at the Joe Piane Invitational three weeks ago. Workman ran a career-best 5K time at Notre Dame of 17:53.40, the 16th-best time in school history, which gave her a 38th place finish against staunch competition.
 
NO STEPS DOWN
After competing in a stacked field of competition at the John McNichols Invitational, the Sycamores didn't get a break from strong competition. Both teams raced in the Gold Division races at Notre Dame, which featured nine regionally-ranked teams on the men's side including Akron, Butler, Miami (OH) and Oakland from the Great Lakes Region. The women matched up with eight regionally-ranked teams, featuring Butler and Miami (OH) from the Great Lakes Region.
 
SOPHOMORES IN CHARGE
The sophomore duo of Jocelyn Quiles and Nick Yeend was impressive to start the season. Yeend was the leader for the men in the opening races of the season, placing sixth at the Crusader Open with a personal-best 6K time of 18:44.40 and then 38th at the John McNichols Invitational with a career-best time of 25:17.90 in the 8K. Quiles ran a personal-best 5K time at the Crusader Invite, clocking in at 18:04.70 for ninth place and then placed 51st at the John McNichols Invitational at 18:04.90.
 
BATTLE AT LAVERN
The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course welcomed some of the best teams in the nation on both sides to compete at the John McNichols Invitational two weeks ago. There were a total of 46 teams that competed over that weekend, (22 men and 24 women), including nationally-ranked Northern Arizona (1), Iowa State (5), Stanford (7), Indiana (16) and Purdue (24) on the men's side, and Washington (3), Michigan (4), Arkansas (5), Stanford (8) and Indiana (28) on the women's side.
 
THE POWER OF FIVE
The Trees will have veteran leadership leading the way on both the men's and women's teams, with fifth-year seniors Ryan Cash and Brooke Moore returning. Cash is coming off of a stellar outdoor track and field season where he placed second in the steeplechase. Moore is the returning MVC runner-up in cross country and she captured the 1500-meter run title during outdoor season.
 
PLANTING SEEDS
The future is bright for both the men's and women's cross country teams. Youth will be a major theme for both, as the men boast nine freshmen and four sophomores out of their 15-man lineup, and the women have two freshmen and 12 sophomores.
 
TABBED FOURTH IN THE MVC
Both the Sycamore men and women were tabbed to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches poll. The men gathered 54 points in the poll while Bradley was chosen as the favorite with all nine first place votes and 81 total points. The women tallied 65 points while the Bradley women were selected as the favorite with eight first place votes and 98 points.
 
A BALANCED ATTACK
Head coach Kyle Walsh has some help this season with the addition of new assistant coach, Billy Poole-Harris. Poole-Harris joined the Sycamores after previously serving as a volunteer assistant at Northern Illinois and before that, the head coach of Whitney M. Young High School.
 
HOME, SWEET HOME
The blue and white have the opportunity to host three home meets at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in 2019. Starting on Sept. 21, the Trees host the John McNichols Invitational, hosted in honor of legendary Sycamore head coach John McNichols. ISU will also host the 2019 Under Armour Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 19 before welcoming the NCAA Championships back to Terre Haute on Nov. 23.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Cross Country and Track & Field teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.