TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State cross country splits its squad for a pair of meets Friday, with the Sycamores set to field entries in both the Joe Piane Invitational in South Bend and Nike XC Town Twilight at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
 
Friday's Joe Piane Invitational kicks off with the women's 5k at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 8k at 10:40 a.m. The Nike XC Town Twilight features a women's 6k at 5 p.m. and a men's 8k at 5:45 p.m.
 
There is a $5 admission fee for the Nike XC Town Twilight, which will be collected at the gates. Gates will open for teams starting at 3 p.m. RunnerSpace will broadcast Friday's Nike XC Town Twilight (subscription required), while Midwest Timing will provide live results.
 
Who's In The Field
Joining the Trees and host Notre Dame in the Joe Piane Invitational field will be Akron, Belmont, Bradley, Butler, Central Michigan, Clemson, Dayton, Eastern Michigan, Grand Valley State, Illinois State, Indiana, IU Indy, Miami (Fla.), NC State, Saint Louis, San Francisco, South Carolina, St. Thomas (Minn.), Texas State, UTSA, Western Michigan and Youngstown State.
 
Indiana State will be joined in the Nike XC Town Twilight by Anderson (Ind.), Austin Peay, Baylor (women only), DePauw, Eastern Illinois, Florida Gulf Coast, IU Columbus, IU East, IU Kokomo, Kentucky Christian, Parkland College, Rose-Hulman, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, SIUE, SEMO, Southern Indiana, Spring Arbor (Mich.), Texas Tech and UC San Diego.
 
Friday's Joe Piane Invitational Field figures to be among the best out of any meet contested during the upcoming weekend, with multiple top-25 teams in both races. NC State features the No. 1 team in the nation on the women's side, while No. 15 Notre Dame headlines the teams on the men's side.
 
Last Time Out
Indiana State welcomed some of the top talent in the nation to the famed LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course Saturday, as the Sycamores played host to the John McNichols Invitational, one of the premier early-season meets on the calendar.
 
Competing on its home course for the first of three regular season meets in Terre Haute, the Sycamores finished 18th on the women's side and 29th on the men's side. A pair of upperclassmen in Brittney Burak and Emerson Fayman paced the Blue and White on the women's and men's side, respectively.
 
Burak finished in the top 75 with a 6k time of 21:22.1, a result which ranks her among the top five times in program history at LaVern Gibson. Hadley Gradolf was behind her in 78th, with her time of 21:34.1 also placing her in the top 10 LaVern Gibson 6k times in program history. Local product Halle Miller also worked her way up the program ranks, as her time of 21:58.4 placed her in the top 15 6k times in program history at LaVern Gibson.
 
Fayman was the first Sycamore to cross the line on the men's side, with the fifth-year Tree clocking a time of 25:27.2. Underclassmen accounted for three of the Sycamores' top five finishers, with Chris Angeles the next to stop the clock 26:23.7. Ryan Handy was right behind with his time of 26:24.9, while freshmen Andrew Straley (26:41.7) and Henry McMurry (26:43.5) rounded out the top five for the Blue and White.
 
All Roads Lead Home
The 2026 season will be a busy one for Indiana State, with the Sycamores set to host the NCAA Cross Country National Championships for the 14th time in program history. The nation's premier meet returns to the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course for the first time since 2019, with the Blue and White previously also hosting the meet in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
 
Tickets for the 2026 NCAA Cross Country National Championships are already on sale and can be purchased HERE.
 
Prior to hosting the national championships, Indiana State will have three meets at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The Sycamores will welcome top talent from across the country for the John McNichols Invitational (Sept. 19), Nike XC Town Twilight (Oct. 2) and Under Armour Pre-National Invitational (Oct. 3).
 
Walk and Talk
Emerson Fayman joined Indiana State Vice President and Director of Athletics Nathan Christensen and women's soccer student-athlete Avery Oergel for a walk and talk session on campus.
   
Trees In The Polls
Indiana State remains among the best in the Great Lakes Region, with the Sycamores checking in at No. 12 on the women's side in the most recent set of regional rankings.
 
The Sycamores have been ranked in the top 15 in the region in 16 consecutive polls, a streak which dates back to the first meet of the 2024 season. Indiana State has placed in the top 10 on the women's side at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in each of the last two seasons, finishing ahead of the likes of Indiana, Purdue and Ohio State.
 
Climbing The Ranks
Indiana State's program top-20 charts have seen plenty of turnover through the first two meets of the 2026 season, with seven different Sycamores setting marks that rank among the program's best during the early portion of the campaign.
 
Three Trees – Brittney Burak, Halle Miller and Hadley Gradolf – have run program top-20 times in both the 4k (Fighting Illini Invitational) and 6k (John McNichols Invitational) this season, while Katy Green, Eve Schurr, Emersyn Bland and Lily Rollings all ran program top-20 4k times in the season-opening Fighting Illini Invitational.
 
Up Next
Indiana State once again becomes the center of the cross country world October 16, as the Sycamores host the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
 
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.