Cardinals Set for John McNichols Invitational

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville's men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action at Indiana State's John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday.

The meet will take place at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, which will also host the 2022 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships later this fall. Louisville has not competed at LaVern Gibson as a team since 2019 at the Under Armour Pre-Nationals, where the women placed eighth and the men 25^th.

"Most of our team is familiar with the Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute," said head coach Dale Cowper. "It is a challenging but fair course. Coach (Eric) Heins and (Andrew) Carlson are doing a great job of growing the squad's capability and I'm excited to see the race Saturday morning against a quality field of competition."

The men's 8K race will kick off the morning, with the gun slated to sound at 9:00 a.m. The start of the women's 5K race will follow immediately after at 9:45 a.m.

The Cardinals will travel 17 runners to Terre Haute, bringing eight runners on the women's side and nine for the men. Louisville is one of 22 teams competing in the meet, with the rest of the field featuring Illinois and Purdue from the Big Ten, as well as Missouri from the SEC. The women's squad from Illinois is the only ranked team on either side, coming in at 27^th nationally in this week's USTFCCCA coaches' poll.

The Cardinals return to competition two weeks after opening their season at the Covered Bridge Open on Sept. 2. The men placed third as a team behind a pair of top-five finishes by Ian Kibiwot and Isaac Kiprop, who placed second and fourth overall, respectively. Freshman Spenser Wolf just missed out on a top-twenty finish, placing 21^st in a time of 26:08.24.

On the women's side, Sydney Partyka led Louisville through the line in a personal-best time of 18:16.21 for a 19th-place finish, as the women placed sixth as a team. Sophomore Lexie Paszkiewicz also recorded a personal record, dipping under 19 minutes in the 5K for the first time in 18:56.8. A total of six athletes made their collegiate debut, while four of those athletes competed in a Cardinal uniform for the first time.

Following Saturday's meet, the Cardinals will begin gearing up for the Live in Lou Classic on Saturday, Oct. 1, at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.

For the latest information on Louisville Cross Country/Track and Field, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram and Twitter account at @LouisvilleTFXC or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleTFXC.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ian Kibiwot

Isaac Kiprop

Sydney Partyka

Lexie Paszkiewicz

Spenser Wolf

University of Louisville Athletics