Indiana cross country began its 2025 season with promising signs. The Hoosiers finished first at the season-opening Sam Bell Invitational in Bloomington and posted top 10 times at the Spartan Invite Big Ten Preview in East Lansing, Michigan, two weeks later.
The Hoosiers finished last season at the Great Lakes Regional Championships last November in Evansville, Indiana. The top two teams from each race — the University of Notre Dame and Wisconsin in the women’s and Notre Dame and Butler University in the men’s — at the championship earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. After finishing outside of the top 10 at the Big Ten Championships in both the men’s and women’s races, the championship was Indiana’s last opportunity to salvage its season.
But Indiana’s season ended similarly to its previous two: without an NCAA Championships appearance.
Indiana placed 19th in the men’s race and 11th in the women’s race at the Great Lakes Regional, missing a chance at an at-large bid to the championships.
Now, the Cream and Crimson focus on 2026 and a fresh opportunity to make the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2022.
Indiana’s 2026 roster features a large freshman class with six newcomers on the men’s side and eight on the women’s team.
The Hoosiers graduated Nolan Satterfield, who led Indiana with a 24:20:6 time at the Big Ten Championships last year. But the program still returns talent from last season’s roster.
Junior Tony Provenzano is a name to watch for the Hoosiers this season, after being the lone Hoosier named in the Big Ten’s 2026 Runners to Watch List.
Junior Dylon Nalley, who led the way for the Hoosiers at the 2025 Great Lakes Regional with a time of 31:13:49, will also be one of the top Indiana returners this season. Nalley also finished with the second fastest mark for a Hoosier and 80th fastest time overall at last year’s Big Ten Championship.
Despite an influx of new talent, the women’s team still retains a high level of experience with half of its 20-person roster made up of upperclassmen. Then-junior Lily Myers was a key contributor in 2025, after she paced the Cream and Crimson at the Great Lakes Regional last year, finishing 35th in the event with a time of 20:57:34. Myers now looks to build on her success for her senior season.
Sophomore Ava Jarrell is primed to step forward as a key contributor after a successful freshman season in 2025. Jarrell was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after finishing 45th at the Big Ten Championships — the best mark of any Hoosier in the women’s event.
The cross country program is led by head coach Eric Heins, who enters his fourth season at the helm. Heins is an experienced coach with a 2016 NCAA D1 Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year award on his resume.
Indiana will begin its season by hosting the Sam Bell Invitational on Friday at the Sam Bell Cross Country Course in Bloomington. Following the home opening meet, the program will then travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, for the John McNichols Invitational on Sept. 19.
After the John McNichols Invitational, the Hoosiers will remain in-state with the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational on Oct. 2 in South Bend, Indiana, before returning to Terre Haute for the Indiana State Pre-Nationals on Oct. 16.
Postseason competition begins with the Big Ten Championships on Oct. 30, followed by the Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 13. The NCAA Championships will take place Nov. 21 at LaVern Gibson Championship XC Course in Terre Haute.
