LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course

LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course
Address	599 South Tabortown Street; Terre Haute, Indiana; United States
Acreage	250
Tenants
	Indiana State Sycamores; Rose–Hulman Fightin' Engineers
Website
	www.laverngibson.com

The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, in Terre Haute, Indiana was dedicated October 17, 1997. This course has the distinction of being one of the few purpose-built cross-country courses in the world.^[1] The facility is part of 240 acres (0.97 km²) that comprise the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center just east of the Terre Haute International Airport. The course itself is built on a reclaimed coal mine and consists of an external loop of 3 km and four internal loops that allow for circuits of varying lengths. Indiana State University'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 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 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships (2002, 2004-2011, 2013-2014, 2016, 2019). It has additionally hosted the Men's and Women's NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in 2012 and 2024. In 2004 it also became the host site of the state high school championship meet for Indiana, as well as the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Midwest Regional Meet in 2009. It has also hosted numerous invitational and conference championship meets on multiple levels since it opened.

Course records

Race	Runner	School	Time	Race	Date
Collegiate 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	Hunter Jones	Benzie Central High School (Benzonia, MI)	14:21.8	2022 Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Regionals	11/13/2022

References

^ "LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course". laverngibson.com. Retrieved 2018-04-18.

External links

Official website

39°27′30″N 87°15′53″W / 39.45833°N 87.26472°W / 39.45833; -87.26472

[1] "LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course". laverngibson.com. Retrieved 2018-04-18.

[1]

v t e Cross country running in the United States
Championships	USA Cross Country Championships National Club Championships Foot Locker Championships Nike Cross Nationals NAIA Men Women NCAA DI Men Women NCAA DII Men Women NCAA DIII Men Women NJCAA DI Men Women NJCAA DII Men Women NJCAA DIII Men Women USATF National Junior Olympic Championships
Meetings	Cross Champs
World events	NACAC Cross Country Championships 1984 World Championships (East Rutherford) 1992 World Championships (Boston)
See also: IAAF World Cross Country Championships USATF LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course

v t e City of Terre Haute
Government	Vigo County Courthouse FCC Terre Haute FCI Terre Haute USP Terre Haute
Landmarks	Public art Attractions National Register of Historic Places LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course Sage-Robinson-Nagel House (Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley) CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center Swope Art Museum
Transportation	Terre Haute Regional Airport Terre Haute station (closed) Terre Haute Transit
Education	Vigo County School Corporation Woodrow Wilson MS North HS South HS Indiana State University template Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology Schools in the metro area
Notable people	Mayors
Culture	Terre Haute Rex
See also Metropolitan Area