TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State cross country sets its sights on a pair of Midwest meets Friday, as the Sycamores will take part in the Pre-National Invitational and the Bradley Pink Classic.
The Pre-National Invitational women's 6k starts at 11 a.m., with the men's 8k to follow at 11:45 a.m. The Bradley Pink Classic men's 8k is slated for 2:30 p.m., with the women's 6k to follow at 3:15 p.m. Both meets will feature a live stream, with the Pre-National Invitational being aired on SEC Network+ and the Bradley Pink Classic airing on ESPN+.
There is a $12 general admission fee for the Pre-National Invitational, with tickets available for purchase in advance
HERE.
Who's In The Field?
Indiana State will compete against Arkansas, BYU, Boston College, Bryant, Cal Poly, Chattanooga, Clemson, Colorado State, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Idaho State, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Liberty, Loyola Chicago, Miami (Ohio), Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Montana State, Nebraska, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Purdue, Quinnipiac, Santa Clara, Saint Louis, San Francisco, South Dakota State, Tennessee, Texas, Utah State, Villanova, Wichita State, Wyoming and Youngstown State at the Pre-National Invitational.
The Sycamores will also face around 25 Division I men's and women's institutions at the Bradley Pink Classic, including five MVC foes.
Schedule Update
Due to the threat of inclement weather in the Columbia area, the Pre-National Invitational at Missouri's Gans Creek Cross Country Course was moved up to Friday. The meet had originally been scheduled to take place Saturday.
Race times for the women's 6k and men's 8k remain at 11 and 11:45 a.m., while the open sections for both genders were eliminated due to the schedule adjustment.
Last Time Out
Indiana State cross country posted a strong showing at the Joe Piane Invitational, overcoming warm weather and top competition at the Burke Golf Course. The Sycamores placed seventh in the men's gold division race and were leading the pack for long stretches of the race. Indiana State placed 15th in the women's blue division race, which featured a plethora of nationally and regionally ranked foes.
Ryan York paced the Blue and White on the men's side, with his 8k time of 24:31.5 representing a career-best time and earning him a top-10 finish for the first time in his career. York placed seventh in the field and also ran a top-20 8k time in program history, while
Ryan Handy clocked a time of 25:05.0 to place in the top 35.
Brittney Burak led the way for the Trees on the women's side with a time of 17:10.5 and was joined in the top 60 overall by
Peyton Smith with a time of 17:13.1.
Climbing The Charts
Indiana State continued its assault on the program record books at the Joe Piane Invitational, as six Sycamores recorded program top-20 times in their respective events in South Bend.
Brittney Burak (fifth, 17:10.5),
Peyton Smith (seventh, 17:13.1) and
Sawyer DeWitt (10th, 17:36.6) all cracked the top 10 5k times in program history, while
Hadley Gradolf (15th, 17:44.9) and
Gnister Grant (18th, 17:49.0) both moved into the top 20 in program history in the event. Program 5k record holder
Emma Gresham also ran a time of 17:46.8 at Notre Dame.
Ryan York also ran a career-best 8k time of 24:31.5 at Notre Dame, earning him his first career top-10 finish and putting him 16th in program history in the event.
Trees In The Polls
Indiana State moved in an upward trajectory in the most recent set of USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Rankings. The Sycamores checked in at No. 12 in the region on the women's side, a two-spot improvement from the previous region rankings. The Sycamore men also finished ahead of a regionally-ranked team from the previous rankings in Eastern Michigan at the Joe Piane Invitational.
The Sycamores have been ranked as high as No. 8 in the region this season on the women's side and have been inside the top 15 in every region ranking since the first meet of the 2024 season. The Trees will look to continue their success in the rankings after picking up a pair of top-five team finishes on both the men's and women's side to start the 2025 campaign.
Split-Squad Sycamores
Indiana State will feature a split squad Friday, with 16 Sycamores set to compete at the Pre-National Invitational and 10 slated to compete at the Bradley Pink Classic.
Representing the Blue and White at the Pre-National Invitational on the men's side will be
Chris Angeles,
Emerson Fayman,
Ryan Handy,
Will Kozlowski,
Parker Mimbela,
Brandon Mueller,
Mason Nobles and
Ryan York.
Brittney Burak,
Sawyer DeWitt,
Hadley Gradolf,
Gnister Grant,
Emma Gresham,
Halle Miller,
Alli Steffey and
Peyton Smith will represent the Trees on the women's side at Missouri.
Alex Alvarez,
Tommy Claxton,
Xander Fackler,
Jcim Grant and
Jocqael Thorpe will compete for the Sycamores on the men's side at the Bradley Pink Classic, while
Kamilla Gibson,
Hallie Mimbela,
Ada Sabo,
Robyn Schemel and
Eve Schurr will compete for the Trees on the women's side at Bradley.
Back at Pre-Nats
The Pre-National Invitational is a welcome return to Indiana State's schedule, with the Sycamores last taking part in the event in 2019, a year which the Trees were meet hosts and went on to host the national championships.
Indiana State's last Pre-National Invitational appearance outside of Terre Haute came in 2018 at Wisconsin. The Sycamores have never competed at Missouri's Gans Creek Cross Country Course since the facility opened in 2019.
Up Next
Indiana State makes the short trip down US-41 to compete in the MVC Cross Country Championships October 31 in Evansville, Indiana.
Follow the Sycamores
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. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from the both the
App Store and the
Google Play Store.
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