TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State cross country kicks off its 2026 season Friday evening, with the Sycamores making the short trek to Savoy, Illinois for the Fighting Illini Invitational.
 
Friday's season opener will consist of the women's 4k at 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT) and the men's 6k at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT).
 

2026 Fighting Illini Invitational
Date	Friday, September 4 | 7:30 p.m. (women's 4k) // 8 p.m. (men's 6k)
Location // Venue	Savoy, Ill. // Orange and Blue Golf Course
Preview Info	Meet Information // Course Maps (4K | 6K)
Live Results	Results Link
Social Media	@IndStXCTF // @IndStAthletics

 
Who's In The Field
Joining Indiana State and host institution Illinois in Friday's field will be a pair of fellow MVC schools in Illinois State and UIC, along with Saint Louis.
 
Illinois is the highest ranked men's team in the field, checking in at No. 13 in the Midwest Region. Three women's teams in Friday's field find themselves among the top 15 in their regions, with Indiana State (No. 10, Great Lakes Region), Illinois State (No. 9, Midwest Region) and Illinois (No. 13, Midwest Region) all ranking among the best in their respective region.
 
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).
 
Run It Back
Indiana State returns to the site of its 2025 season opener, which saw plenty of success for the Sycamores. Brittney Burak broke the program record in the women's 4k last season at Illinois at 13:44.4, while the Sycamores' top six 4k times in program history were all run that day on the Orange and Blue Golf Course. Nine different athletes ran times which ranked in the top 20 in program history, helping lead the Trees to a second-place finish ahead of host institution Illinois.
 
The Sycamores' top 10 athletes who competed on the men's side at the 2025 Fighting Illini Invitational are all back for the 2026 season, with upperclassmen duo Emerson Fayman and Ryan York coming off strong campaigns a season ago. Fayman was the top finisher for the Trees at Illinois, with his 18:06.8 6k time placing 12th, while York placed in the top 30 in four of his six meets last year.
 
Back-to-Back
Indiana State is coming off back-to-back second place finishes on the women's side at the MVC Cross Country Championships, marking the first time since a four-season span from 1991-94 that the Sycamores recorded consecutive top-two finishes at the conference championships. The Trees also had a pair of athletes finish in the top 15 in the conference in the 6k in Brittney Burak (eighth, 21:13.7) and Peyton Smith (14th, 21:28.1), both of whom are back for the Blue and White in 2026. Halle Miller also returns for the Trees following a top-20 finish at the MVC Championships (21:38.6), while Burak (21:01.5) and Hadley Gradolf (21:05.0) carded top-50 finishes at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
 
The Sycamores look to bounce back on the men's side in 2026 and will have the entirety of their top seven from last season back in the fold. Ryan York returns after recording a top-20 finish in the 8k at the MVC Championships (25:12.9), becoming the first Sycamore since Cael Light in 2022 to earn a top-20 finish in the conference championships, while Mason Nobles will look to improve on a strong freshman season that saw him place in the top 30 at the MVC Championships (25:25.3). Emerson Fayman, was also in the top 35 at the MVC Championships (25:31.4), while York (Joe Piane Invitational) and Fayman (John McNichols Invitational) earned the first top-10 finishes of their career in 2025.
 
Trees In The Polls
Indiana State enters the season back in the top 10 in the Great Lakes Region rankings, with the Sycamores checking in at No. 10 on the women's side in the preseason poll.
 
The Sycamores have been ranked in the top 15 in the region in 14 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.
 
Familiar Faces
Indiana State returns the vast majority of its 2025 team, which saw the Sycamores continue to stake their claim as one of the Valley's best on the women's side while making forward strides on the men's side.
 
The Trees return four of their top five on the women's side, with all-conference standouts Brittney Burak and Peyton Smith leading the way. Halle Miller enters her senior season on the heels of a top-20 finish at the 2025 MVC Championships, while Hadley Gradolf placed in the top 50 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Gnister Grant earned top-20 program marks in the 4k and 5k last season, while Eve Schurr also ranked among the top 20 4k times in program history as a freshman in 2025. Indiana State's top four at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional – Burak, Gradolf, Grant and Miller – are all back after earning top-75 finishes in last season's meet.
 
Emerson Fayman and Ryan York lead an Indiana State men's team looking to vault up the conference ranks in 2026, after both recorded their first career top-10 finish at a meet last year. Mason Nobles returns after a strong freshman season which saw him among Indiana State's top three at both the MVC Championships and NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Ryan Handy, who was an NCAA East First Round qualifier and MVC Champion in the steeplechase in 2025, returns for his senior season, while Brandon Mueller will look to build on his sophomore season which saw him vault into the team's top five at both the MVC Championships and NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
 
Fab Freshmen
Indiana State's 2026 freshmen class will look to continue the upward trend that the Sycamores have seen in recent seasons. The Trees welcome a pair of freshmen on the women's side, including a top-25 finisher at last year's IHSAA Cross Country Championships in Zionsville's Katy Green. Lily Rollings also joins the Trees following a pair of top-50 state championship finishes while at Greenwood Community, adding to a strong Sycamore unit which returns four of its top five runners from 2025.
 
The Sycamores have four freshmen on the men's side, all of whom are primed to make a major impact for the Blue and White in 2026 and beyond. Denton Sluder is coming off a season where he placed in the top 15 at the 2025 IHSAA Cross Country Championships while helping lead Columbus North to a state title. Aboubakar Ibrahim also placed in the top 20 at the 2025 IHSAA State Championships, finishing as the top runner for Ben Davis and later scoring points for the Giants in the 1600m at the 2026 IHSAA Track and Field State Championships. Indiana State also added a pair of high-level runners from Illinois, as Henry McMurry placed in the top 20 at the Illinois 2A State Championships while at Mahomet-Seymour and Andrew Straley finished in the top 30 at the Illinois 3A State Championships for Brother Rice out of Chicago.
 
Up Next
Indiana State plays host to the first of three regular season meets at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course September 19, welcoming some of the top talent in the nation for the John McNichols Invitational.
 
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.