The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

was dedicated October 17, 1997. This course has the distinction of being one of the few purpose-built cross-country courses in the world. The facility is part of that comprise the

Wabash Valley The Wabash Valley is a region located in sections of both Illinois and Indiana. It is named for the Wabash River and, as the name is typically used, spans the middle to the middle-lower portion of the river's valley and is centered at Terre Ha ...

Family Sports Center just east of the

Terre Haute International Airport Terre Haute Regional Airport is a civil-military public airport in Terre Haute, Indiana, Terre Haute, in Vigo County, Indiana, Vigo County, Indiana, east of the city center. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 F ...

. The course itself is built on a reclaimed

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

and consists of an external loop of 3 km and four internal loops that allow for circuits of varying lengths.

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

's Cross-Country team uses the Gibson Course for its home meets. In the short history of the course it has hosted multiple championship meets. The Gibson Course hosted the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

Division I Great Lakes Regional in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003, and Division III Regional in 2009 and 2012. The most prominent meet it has hosted has been the Men's and

Women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships (2002, 2004-2011, 2013-2014, 2016, 2019). In 2004 it also became the host site of the state high school championship meet for

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, as well as the

Nike Cross Nationals Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) (formerly known as Nike Team Nationals) is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the unofficial team national championship of United States high school cross country. Sponsored by Nike, It was designed to h ...

(NXN) Midwest Regional Meet in 2009. It has also hosted numerous invitational and conference championship meets on multiple levels since it opened.

Course records

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 39, 27, 30, N, 87, 15, 53, W, region:US-IN, display=title College cross country courses in the United States Cross country running courses in Indiana Indiana State Sycamores cross country courses Sports venues in Indiana Buildings and structures in Terre Haute, Indiana Tourist attractions in Terre Haute, Indiana