LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course facts for kids
| Address | 599 South Tabortown Street Terre Haute, Indiana United States |
|---|---|
| Acreage | 250 |
| Tenants | |
| Indiana State Sycamores Rose–Hulman Fightin' Engineers |
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The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana is a very special place for runners. It was opened on October 17, 1997. What makes it unique is that it was built just for cross-country races. Most running courses use parks or golf courses, but this one was designed from scratch for runners.
The course is part of a big area called the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. This area is about 240 acres, which is like 180 football fields! It's located just east of the Terre Haute International Airport. The course itself was built on land that used to be a coal mine. It has a main loop that is 3 kilometers long, plus four smaller loops. These loops can be combined in different ways to make races of many different lengths. The Indiana State University cross-country team uses the Gibson Course for their home races.
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A Special Place for Running
Since it opened, the LaVern Gibson Course has hosted many important championship races. It's known as one of the best cross-country courses in the world.
Hosting Big Races
The course has hosted the NCAA Great Lakes Regional championships many times. These races are for college teams from different divisions. It hosted the Division I regional race in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003. It also hosted the Division III regional race in 2009 and 2012.
National Championships
The most famous races held at the LaVern Gibson Course are the Men's and Women's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. These are the biggest college cross-country races in the United States! The course has hosted these national championships many times, including in 2002, 2004-2011, 2013-2014, 2016, and 2019.
High School Championships
Since 2004, the course has also been the home for the state high school championship meet for Indiana. This means the fastest high school runners in Indiana come here to compete. It has also hosted the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Midwest Regional Meet in 2009. Many other invitationals and conference championship meets for different levels of runners have also been held here since the course opened.
Course Records
Many fast runners have set records on the LaVern Gibson Course. Here are some of the best times recorded by college and high school athletes.
| Race | Runner | School | Time | Race | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College Course Records | |||||
| Women's 6k | Sally Kipyego | Texas Tech | 19:28.1 | 2008 NCAA Championship | 11/25/2008 |
| Women's 6k (old course) | Joanna Nilsson | Northern Arizona | 19:33.9 | 2005 NCAA Championship | 11/21/2005 |
| Men's 8k | Sam Chelanga | Liberty | 22:51.3 | 2008 Brooks Pre-Nationals White Race | 10/18/2008 |
| Men's 10k | Sam Chelanga | Liberty | 28:41.2 | 2009 NCAA Championship | 11/23/2009 |
| High School Course Records | |||||
| Girls 5k | Zofia Dudek | Pioneer High School (MI) | 16:49.3 | 2019 Nike XC Nationals Midwest Regional | 11/16/2019 |
| Girls 4k (old course) | Alexandra Banfich | Culver Girls Academy (IN) | 14:05.1 | 2005 Indiana HS State Championship | 10/29/2005 |
| Boys 5k | Futsum Zeinasellassie | North Central (Indianapolis, IN) | 14:48.8 | 2011 Indiana HS State Championship | 10/29/2011 |
