TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State cross country competes outside of the Hoosier State for the first time since the opening meet of the 2026 season, as the Sycamores head west for the 2026 MVC Cross Country Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
Friday's women's 6k championship will start at 11:30 a.m., with the men's 8k championship to follow at 12:30 p.m.
 
There is a $10 admission fee, with tickets sold at the entrance. Admission for students with a valid ID and children 2 and under is free.
 
Who's In The Field
Joining the Sycamores in Friday's field will be Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Murray State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, UIC and Valparaiso.
 
Last Time Out
Temperatures finally dropped in Terre Haute, but the action on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course only heated up, as Indiana State squared off with the top talent in the nation as Under Armour Pre-National Invitational hosts.
 
Seven different Sycamores recorded program top-20 Lavern Gibson times during the premier regular season cross country meet, with Brittney Burak and Emerson Fayman both making their mark on the history book. Burak became the first Sycamore to ever break 21 minutes in the 6k at LaVern Gibson, while Fayman's 8k time in Friday's meet was one that only the legendary John Mascari has bettered in program history.
 
Women's Championship Outlook
Coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2024 and 2025, Indiana State looks to maintain its spot among the best in the MVC. The Sycamores haven't earned three straight top-three finishes at the conference championships since a seven-year run from 1989-95, and the Trees were tabbed third in the pre-championship poll.
 
Brittney Burak leads the talented Sycamore squad after earning all-conference accolades last season with her top-10 finish. The program 4k record holder (13:33) also owns top-five marks in both the 5k (17:02) and 6k (20:33), and is one of seven different Sycamore women to run a program top-20 mark in either the 4k, 5k or 6k this season.
 
Hadley Gradolf and Halle Miller join Burak on all three (4k, 5k, 6k) program top-20 charts, while a pair of Sycamore underclassmen in Eve Schurr and Katy Green ran 6k marks which rank among the best LaVern Gibson times in program history. Emersyn Bland and Lily Rollings also ran program top-20 4k times during the season for the Sycamores, who have been in the Great Lakes Region rankings in every poll in 2026.
 
Men's Championship Outlook
Indiana State has a chip on its shoulder after a seventh-place finish at the 2025 conference championships left a sour taste for the Sycamores. The Trees appear to be trending in an upward direction at the right time, though, cracking the Great Lakes Region rankings for the first time in over two years and just the second time in the last six seasons.
 
Emerson Fayman leads the way for the Blue and White, having run a program top-five 8k mark of 24:07 at Notre Dame and the fastest time by a Sycamore at LaVern Gibson in over a decade at 24:30. Upperclassmen Ryan York and Ryan Handy join Fayman on the program top-20 charts for 8k times and have been mainstays in the Sycamore top five during their time in Terre Haute.
 
Brandon Mueller's steady improvement throughout the season has been a key part in the Sycamores' rise up the rankings, running career-best times of 24:59 at both Notre Dame and on the famed LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Mueller's LaVern Gibson time ranked among the top 20 for Sycamore athletes on the home course. Chris Angeles, Xander Fackler and Henry McMurry have also been among the Trees' top five in at least one meet this season, giving the Sycamores depth they have not always had in recent years.
 
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.
 
Indiana State will played host to three regular season meets at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in preparation for the national championships, welcoming 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).
 
Trees In The Polls
Indiana State is peaking at the right time, with the Sycamore women matching their highest regional ranking of the season and the men ranked in the Great Lakes Region for the first time in over two years and just the second time since the start of the 2021 season.
 
The Trees enter the MVC Championships ranked 10th in the Great Lakes Region on the women's side, climbing four spots from their previous ranking. Indiana State comes in at 15th in the region on the men's side for their first regional ranking of the season.
 
The Sycamore women have been ranked in the top 15 in the region in 18 consecutive polls, a streak which dates back to the first meet of the 2024 season, while the Sycamore men achieved their first regional ranking since the midway point 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.
 
Up Next
Indiana State travels north for the 2026 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, slated for November 13 in East Lansing, Michigan.
 
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.