Indiana University Athletics
IU Cross Country Hosts Indiana Open Saturday
9/5/2013 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sep 5, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2013 Indiana cross country season will begin with the Indiana Open on Saturday, Sept. 7. The meet will consist of two races with a women's 5K run and a men's 8K race. Competition will begin at 9:20 a.m. ET at the IU Championship Cross Country Course in Bloomington, Ind.
The men's team sits at No. 20 in the preseason national rankings. The Hoosier men return five runners that participated in the NCAA Championships in 2012 including Evan Esselink, Robby Nierman, JR Ricker, Matt Schwartzer and Owen Skeete. Those five, among others, will look to fill the void of former All-Americans Andy Bayer and Zach Mayhew who each graduated last year.
For the women's team, Kelsey Duerksen returns in 2013 for Indiana. Duerksen represented IU in last year's NCAA Championships as an individual qualifier. Samantha Ginther also returns for the Hoosiers after missing the 2012 season due to injury. Ginther is also a former NCAA individual qualifier in cross country. Other returners for Indiana that were a part of last year's NCAA Great Lakes Regional squad include Erica Ridderman, Lyndsey Wall and Molly Winters.
Both men's and women's teams have a young nucleus of runners that will look to make some noise in 2013.
Looking Ahead...
With the 2013 season starting, a look at the schedule shows IU will host three events in Bloomington this season and will race seven times within the state of Indiana during the fall. After the Indiana Open, which begins the year at home on Sept. 7, the next home meet for the Hoosiers will on Sept. 20 when the annual Indiana Intercollegiate meet will take over the IU Championship Cross Country Course. Indiana last hosted this yearly event in 2011. IU's final home meet, the Hoosier Invitational, will take place on Nov. 8.
Other races taking place within the state for the Hoosiers include two stops in West Lafayette, first for the Purdue Invitational on Sept. 13 and later the Big Ten Championships on Nov. 3. Terre Haute will also play host to two events this fall with the Pre-Nationals race on Oct. 19 and the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23.
Other major regular season meets include the Lehigh Paul Short Run on Oct. 5 and the Adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis., on Oct. 19. The University of Wisconsin will also host the 2013 NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 15.
Players Mentioned
