Ottumwa, IA – The Indian Hills Men's and Women's Cross Country squads are set to host their annual home meet on Friday at Cedar Creek Golf Course.

DETAILS: 2024 Indian Hills Invitational

Friday, October 11  |  Women's 5k – 4:00 PM  |  Men's 8k – 4:45 PM

Ottumwa, IA  |  Cedar Creek Golf Course

LIVE RESULTS: Indian Hills Invitational

IN-RACE UPDATES: GoHillsTV Facebook

FORECAST: 85 degrees, partly cloudy, slight breeze

Indian Hills Cross Country returns to action this week with its fourth consecutive year of hosting the Indian Hills Invitational in Ottumwa. Nearly 150 student-athltes across 12 programs throughout the Midwest will take on the course at Cedar Creek Golf Course.

STARTING LINE

Head coach Brent Ewing and the Warriors will host the Indian Hills Invite for the fourth consecutive year on Friday with a warm but picturesque day lined up for the competitors.

• The Indian Hills men will toe the line as the defending champs after an impressive performance last year with four individuals in the top-six, including Brandon Ford's meet record time of 23:40.9. The men have finished in the top-two in two of the last three seasons at their home meet.
• The Warrior women, heading into Friday's 5k event with a fully revamped roster from last year, have placed an indiviudal in the top-10 at the Indian Hills Invitational in each of the last three years.
• Both programs check in in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national rankings with the men ranked No. 11 in the nation and the women at No. 23 in the poll.
• The Warrior men and women are both coming off fourth-place finishes at Saturday's Dan Huston Invitational at the Max Cross Country Course in Waverly, IA.

AWARD WINNERS

The Indian Hills Cross Country squads, coming off a strong showing at the Dan Huston Invitational, swept the weekl Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) DI Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors this week.

• Freshman Tiffani Koonce took home the women's weekly accolade after running the second-fastest 6k time in school history on Saturday, placing seventh overall with a mark of 23:22.6. Read more: Koonce Named ICCAC Athlete of the Week
• Sophomore Brandon Ford earned his fourth-career ICCAC Athlete of the Week honor after finishing as the top junior college competitor at the Dan Huston Invite with a time of 25:04.7, a 17-second improvement from last year's event in Waverly. Read more: Ford Named ICCAC Athlete of the Week

SCOUTING THE FIELD

Participating teams in this year's field includes: Culver-Stockton College, Des Moines Area Community College, Faith Baptist College, Graceland University, Hawkeye Community College, Heartland Community College, Iowa Central Community College, North Iowa Area Community College, Southeastern Community College, Southwestern Community College, and State Fair Community College.

• The Iowa Central women head into Friday night's event ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA DI polls while the Triton men checked in at No. 7 in the most recent USTFCCCA ratings.
• Des Moines (6th), Southeastern (10th), Heartland (11th), and NIACC (18th) all checked into the top-20 of the latest men's NJCAA DII national rankings.
• Des Moines (4th), Heartland (9th), and Southeastern (14th) head to Cedar Creek in their respecitve NJCAA DII women's national rankings.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both squads will take a one-week hiatus before returning to its home course at Cedar Creek for the 2024 NJCAA Region 11 Championships on October 25.

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