The transition for male cross country runners from the prep to college ranks is daunting.

The high school distance is 5 kilometers. At the university level they immediately swing to an 8K as freshmen, and that’s just to start the season. The NCAA regional and national races steepen to 10K.

Indiana State University’s third-year coach Brad Butler, a former runner at Eastern Illinois and assistant, said the progression is especially difficult on underclassmen.

The women start at 5K and then move to 6K, which makes for less of a learning curve and more of a direct path to instant impact, Butler said.

All-Missouri Valley Conference honorable mention selection Cael Light, an ISU junior, placed 71st in the regional meet last year at 31 minutes, 33.5 seconds.

“He’s put in a lot of good work this summer, along with some of our top guys,” Butler said.

“Jackson Krieg, Logan Pietrzak and [Jason] Dworak, those four led almost every race last year, they are all back.”

Krieg, a senior, Pietrzak, a junior, and Dworak a junior, finished in that order behind Light in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. As a team, the Sycamores came in sixth out of 11.

Light finished 12th in the MVC at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, a route the Terre Haute South High School grad has become thoroughly acquainted with.

“He just looks excited about it, to be attacking the hills out there,” Butler said.

The Gibson Course has hosted multiple bigtime races, including most recently the NCAA Division I Championships in 2019.

“It’s one of the best [facilities] in the country,” Butler said. “Really, the first of its kind like it. [The late] coach [John] McNichols got it going with the help of some other people, [including] coach [John] Gartland…in the late 90s. Now it’s hosted all those meets. We are excited to have our home meet out there this year.”

In addition to putting on the MVC race last year, the Gibson Course was the site of the Great Lakes regional, which included competitors from Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan, among nearly 32 squads.

This year, the regional is in Madison, Wis. Two programs per region will qualify for the national race and nearly 15 will be at-large for a field of more than 30 teams.

This season, the ISU women’s side will be paced by senior Erica Barker, who posted a 22:15.9 time in last season’s NCAA regional.

“She’s really competitive, don’t have to question that, ever, when she races,” Butler said. “She had a really big breakthrough this year in track. She scored in three out of the four races she ran in indoor and outdoor. I think she can be all-conference this year in cross country. She has that goal.”

Butler said getting into the top 10 for MVC for first-team recognition or getting in the next five for an honorable mention is his expectation for Barker.

Out of the gate, graduate transfer Rachel Conhoff from Ursinus College in Pennsylvania is expected to push Barker, Butler said. Conhoff was a two-time national qualifier at the NCAA Division III level.

Emma Gresham, a freshman from Boonville, who took 56th last year in the Indiana High School Athletic Association state race, is another newcomer to watch, Butler noted.

“We’ve had lower numbers in the distance side the last couple of years,” Butler said. “We worked really hard with recruiting this year. We are bringing in nine women and six guys.”

Sophomore Sara Skaff was the second Sycamore to cross the finish line at the MVC race. The ISU women placed 10th among 12 schools.

“She had a good freshman year, I think she is having a pretty good summer,” Butler said. “She should be in the mix for our [top] five, help push our upperclassmen and bring along the freshmen. She can be a good bridge from the upperclassmen to the freshmen and help them out.”

Practice begins Wednesday, 16 days ahead of the Eastern Illinois Walt Crawford Open to start the 2023 slate.