Indiana University Athletics
IUXC: Season Preview
8/30/2022 9:00:00 AM | Cross Country
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The 2022 Cross Country season is officially upon us.
Over the course of the 2021 calendar year, distance runners ran in two Cross Country seasons and completed a Track and Field season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three months after the conclusion of the 2022 Track and Field season, IU's distance runners will return to courses for the impending Cross Country competition schedule.
IU's men were 4th at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships last October while the women followed closely in 5th.
The Hoosiers will be searching for a first Big Ten Cross Country Championship on the women's side since 1990 while the men go for their first since the 2013 campaign.
This will be the final season with Ron Helmer as head coach as he gets set to retire following the 2022-2023 school year after more than 50 years coaching.
Returning Athletes:
On the women's side, the Hoosiers return four of their top-five finishers from last year's Big Ten Cross Country Championships.
Sarah Schmitt led IU with a 14th-place finish, crossing the line in 21:07.8 in University Park.
Mariah Wehrle, Mikaela Ramirez and Maddie Dalton were among the point scorers for the Hoosiers last season.
The men's side sees the return of three-point scorers from the Big Ten Championships including Jake Gebhardt, Austin Haskett and Skylar Stidam.
All three of those returners were underclassmen last season.
Gebhardt finished 23rd in the Big Ten last season while Haskett followed close behind at 24th.
Among the returners on the men's side include Gabriel Sanchez, the 2021 Cross Country Freshman of the Year.
Newcomers:
The women will be aided by the addition of Alyssa Shope on this year's roster.
The Gahanna, Ohio native was the 2021 Ohio State Cross Country Champion. She owns a personal best in the 3200 meters of 10:32.42.
IU's men welcome the additions of a group of talented freshmen. Abe Eckman, out of Jasper, Ind., was the IHSAA State runner-up across 3200 meters.
Eckman, alongside fellow freshman Cole Raymond, finished 5th and 6th respectively at last year's IHSAA Cross Country State Championships.
Schedule:
The Hoosiers will race four times before the 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Ann Arbor.
Trips to Miami (OH) for the Redhawk Rumble and Lehigh for the Paul Short Invite supplement the Coaching Tree Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.) and Nuttycombe Invitational (Madison, Wisc.).
The Coaching Tree Invitational will feature schools coached by former assistants/athletes of IU coach Ron Helmer as he embarks as his final season in the industry.
Expected teams include powerhouse and reigning Men's National Champions Northern Arizona as well as North Carolina and others.
Big Ten Breakdown:
Michigan will host the 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Championship.
Wisconsin won last year's men's title in convincing fashion with the Badgers' Bob Liking taking the individual title.
Minnesota won the title on the women's side by six points with the Golden Gophers' Megan Hasz taking the individual crown.
Over the course of the 2021 calendar year, distance runners ran in two Cross Country seasons and completed a Track and Field season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three months after the conclusion of the 2022 Track and Field season, IU's distance runners will return to courses for the impending Cross Country competition schedule.
IU's men were 4th at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships last October while the women followed closely in 5th.
The Hoosiers will be searching for a first Big Ten Cross Country Championship on the women's side since 1990 while the men go for their first since the 2013 campaign.
This will be the final season with Ron Helmer as head coach as he gets set to retire following the 2022-2023 school year after more than 50 years coaching.
Returning Athletes:
On the women's side, the Hoosiers return four of their top-five finishers from last year's Big Ten Cross Country Championships.
Sarah Schmitt led IU with a 14th-place finish, crossing the line in 21:07.8 in University Park.
Mariah Wehrle, Mikaela Ramirez and Maddie Dalton were among the point scorers for the Hoosiers last season.
The men's side sees the return of three-point scorers from the Big Ten Championships including Jake Gebhardt, Austin Haskett and Skylar Stidam.
All three of those returners were underclassmen last season.
Gebhardt finished 23rd in the Big Ten last season while Haskett followed close behind at 24th.
Among the returners on the men's side include Gabriel Sanchez, the 2021 Cross Country Freshman of the Year.
Newcomers:
The women will be aided by the addition of Alyssa Shope on this year's roster.
The Gahanna, Ohio native was the 2021 Ohio State Cross Country Champion. She owns a personal best in the 3200 meters of 10:32.42.
IU's men welcome the additions of a group of talented freshmen. Abe Eckman, out of Jasper, Ind., was the IHSAA State runner-up across 3200 meters.
Eckman, alongside fellow freshman Cole Raymond, finished 5th and 6th respectively at last year's IHSAA Cross Country State Championships.
Schedule:
The Hoosiers will race four times before the 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Ann Arbor.
Trips to Miami (OH) for the Redhawk Rumble and Lehigh for the Paul Short Invite supplement the Coaching Tree Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.) and Nuttycombe Invitational (Madison, Wisc.).
The Coaching Tree Invitational will feature schools coached by former assistants/athletes of IU coach Ron Helmer as he embarks as his final season in the industry.
Expected teams include powerhouse and reigning Men's National Champions Northern Arizona as well as North Carolina and others.
Big Ten Breakdown:
Michigan will host the 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Championship.
Wisconsin won last year's men's title in convincing fashion with the Badgers' Bob Liking taking the individual title.
Minnesota won the title on the women's side by six points with the Golden Gophers' Megan Hasz taking the individual crown.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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