Cross Country Season Begins with Indiana Open

Saturday, September 3

Bloomington, Ind.

TBA

Indiana University

Indiana Open & Alumni Meet

9/1/2016 2:38:00 PM | Cross Country

Women's 5k Course Men's 8k Course

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Hoosier cross country team will be back in action for the first time this season on Saturday, September 3. The team will host Miami (OH) in the Indiana Open. The first race will get started at 9:20 a.m. at the IU Championship Cross Country Course.

The men's team is ranked 17^th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) preseason poll and with good reason. Mark Chandler, Jeremy Coughler, Jason Crist and Matt Schwartzer broke out in last year's track season and will look to build on that momentum in cross country this year.

Bryce Millar, Kyle Mau and Ben Veatch will battle all season to earn a top five spot on the team. All three runners are freshmen and each won individual state championships while in high school.

Jackson Bertoli, a former Indiana state champion, will make his Indiana cross country debut this weekend and should also challenge for a top seven spot.

The women's team boasts many talented 1,500m runners. The key to their success will be how well those student-athletes will be able to adjust to running the longer distances on the cross country circuit. Katherine Receveur, Brenna Calder, Haley Harris and Maggie Allen figure to be top contributors in their sophomore campaigns.

The recruiting class has brought in some intriguing prospects in Lexa Barrott, Katherine Free, Stacy Morozov, Hannah Stoffel and Grace Walther. Each will run unattached for the first two weekends but will be in the mix to contribute quickly.

Redshirt senior Amanda Behnke will sit out the first couple of meets, but the former NCAA qualifier and All-Big Ten performer will add much needed experience to a team that is composed almost exclusively of underclassmen.

The women will take to the course on Saturday at 9:20 a.m. for a 5K run to get the meet started. The men's 8K race will start at 10:10 a.m.