Fresh off two strong performances from a team perspective at the Thundering Herd XC Invitational, the No. 24 Shawnee State men's cross country and (RV) Shawnee State women's cross country programs will be running in a traditionally stout field chalk full of the best NAIA programs in the country Friday evening, with the SSU women set to run at 6 p.m. and the SSU men running at 6:40 p.m. in the Indiana Wesleyan University Twilight Meet, which is being held at the IWU Cross Country Course in Marion, Ind.
"Indiana Wesleyan is a great meet every year," Shawnee State Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Conner Flynn said. "The 8,000 meter and 6,000 meter opener is always exciting each year to see where we are at with the championship distances against some of the top teams in the country."
Friday's races mark the second season in a row that the Bears will put themselves to the test against the best of the best that the NAIA has to offer. In 2024, Shawnee State finished seventh out of 22 teams in the field on the men's side and 10th out of 20 participants on the women's side -- which were strong finishes in stacked fields that ultimately propelled the Bears to their ninth consecutive conference title on the men's side and its second consecutive conference runner-up finish, along with an individual NAIA national qualifier, on the women's side.
With 10 teams either ranked or receiving votes on the women's side and eight teams men's side receiving the same designation prior to the commencement of the race, Flynn's message is simple.
"I'm just looking for progression," Flynn said. "We constantly preach the message of being better than we have been. We know that as long as we do that, we will be exactly where we need to be when the time comes. Both teams have taken a step forward and I believe are stronger than this time last year."
Shawnee State's performances at the season-opening Thundering Herd XC Invitational certainly indicated that fact. In that meet, the Bears finished third as a team only behind host Marshall and Ohio -- both NCAA Division I programs with Ohio's women's cross country program ranking sixth in the NCAA Division I realm in the Great Lakes Region.
Trevor Lanoy (sixth) and
Olivia Cisco (ninth) were the fastest non NCAA Division I runners in the field in both of their events in the men's 5K as well as the women's 5K, and overall, Shawnee State placed five runners in the top-20 of the NCAA Division I-heavy fields, combined, between both events.
"These past few weeks of practice have been great," Flynn said. "As a whole, the team has been very focused and strong in their efforts. This will be a perfect field to see where we are and I'm excited to set the standard Friday for the meets to come."
The list of teams competing Friday are as follows:
WOMEN: (RV) Shawnee State, No. 1 Taylor (Ind.), No. 6 Marian (Ind.), No. 7 Grace (Ind.), No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 15 Cornerstone (Mich.), (RV) St. Francis (Ind.), (RV) Rio Grande, (RV) Mount Vernon Nazarene, (RV) Indiana Tech, Ancilla (Ind.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Cumberland (Tenn.), Georgetown (Ky.), Goshen (Ind.), Huntington (Ind.), Indiana East, Indiana Kokomo, Indiana Northwest, Indianapolis, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), St. Xavier (Ill.), Southwest Michigan
MEN: No. 3 Taylor (Ind.), No. 5 Marian (Ind.), No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 13 Indiana East, No. 21 Goshen (Ind.), No. 25 Rio Grande, (RV) Cornerstone (Mich.), (RV) Indiana Tech, Ancilla (Ind.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Cumberland (Tenn.), Georgetown (Ky.), Goshen (Ind.), Grace (Ind.), Huntington (Ind.), Indiana Kokomo, Indiana Northwest, Indianapolis, Mount Vernon Nazarene, Ohio Christian, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), St. Xavier (Ill.), Southwest Michigan
