LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course

The '''LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course''', in [[Terre Haute, Indiana]] was dedicated [[17 October|October 17]], [[1997]]. This course has the distinction of being one of the few purpose-built [[Cross country running|cross-country]] courses in the world. The facility is part of {{convert|240|acre|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 [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]] Great Lakes Regional in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003, and [[Division III (NCAA)|Division III]] Regional in 2009. The most prominent meet it has hosted has been the [[NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship|NCAA Division I Cross-Country Championship]]. The Gibson Course hosted this championship in 2002, 2004-2010, and is currently scheduled to next host the meet in 2012. In 2004 it also became the host site of the state high school championship meet for [[Indiana High School Athletic Association|Indiana]] as well as the [[Nike Cross Nationals]] (NXN) Midwest Regional Meet. It has also hosted numerous invitational and conference championship meets on multiple levels since it opened. == Course records == {| class="wikitable" |- ! Race ! Runner ! School ! Time ! Race ! Date |- !colspan=6|Collegiate Course Records |- | Women's 6k | [[Sally Kipyego]] | [[Texas Tech Red Raiders|Texas Tech]] | 19:28.1 | 2008 [[NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship|NCAA Championship]] | 11/25/2008 |- | Women's 6k (old course) | Joanna Nilsson | [[Northern Arizona University|Northern Arizona]] | 19:33.9 | 2005 [[NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship|NCAA Championship]] | 11/21/2005 |- | Men's 8k | [[Sam Chelanga]] | [[Liberty University|Liberty]] | 22:51.3 | 2008 [[Brooks Sports|Brooks]] Pre-Nationals White Race | 10/18/2008 |- | Men's 10k | [[Sam Chelanga]] | [[Liberty University|Liberty]] | 28:41.2 | 2009 [[NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship|NCAA Championship]] | 11/23/2009 |- !colspan=6|High School Course Records |- | Girls 5k | Hannah Neczypor | [[North Royalton High School|North Royalton (OH)]] | 17:34.3 | 2009 [[Nike Team Nationals]] Mid-West Regional | 11/15/2008 |- | Girls 4k (old course) | Alexandra Banfich | [[Culver Academies|Culver Girls Academy (IN)]] | 14:05.1 | 2005 [[Indiana High School Athletic Association|Indiana HS]] State Championship | 10/29/2005 |- | Boys 5k | Futsum Zeinasellassie | [[North Central High School (Indianapolis)|North Central (Indianapolis, IN)]] | 14:48.8 | 2011 [[Indiana High School Athletic Association|Indiana HS]] State Championship | 10/29/2011 |} ==External links== Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course Web Site: http://laverngibson.com *[http://stsweb.indstate.edu/~wvfsc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=30 Course map] {{Cross country running in the United States}} {{Terre Haute, Indiana}} {{coord missing|Indiana}}