Continuing the #ValpoInTheValley series, which will take a look at each of the Missouri Valley Conference’s 17 sports, are track and field and cross country. Learn about the landscape of The Valley in these sports and hear from cross country head coach Mike Straubel and track and field head coach Ryan Moore as they talk about what their respective programs are looking forward to entering their first season of MVC competition and who will lead the way in 2017-18 for their squads.

MVC Cross Country

All 10 Missouri Valley Conference institutions sponsor women’s cross country, while on the men’s side, nine of the 10 conference schools field teams – Missouri State being the lone exception.

MVC Track and Field

Nine institutions sponsor women’s track and field – Bradley, Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola, Missouri State, UNI, Southern Illinois and Valpo – while eight schools offer men’s track and field – Bradley, Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola, UNI, Southern Illinois and Valpo.

Did You Know?

MVC schools sport a pair of nationally renowned facilities in the cross country and track and field worlds. The home of Indiana State cross country is the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, which hosted its first race in 1997. The site has since hosted the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships 12 times, and is slated to do so again in 2019. Former Crusader Laura Rolf competed at the NCAA national meet in Terre Haute in 2006 and 2007.

Meanwhile, Drake Stadium is nationally recognized as one of the nation’s premier track and field outdoor sites. Home of the prestigious Drake Relays, Drake Stadium has twice this decade hosted the USA Track & Field Championships, as well as hosting the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Championships in 2008, 2011 and 2012.

A Look Back at 2016-17

MVC Cross Country

Individual Cross Country Champions

Men’s – Reed Fischer, Drake

Women’s – Rebekah Topham, Wichita State

MVC Indoor Track and Field

MVC Outdoor Track and Field

The Valley on the National Stage

The Missouri Valley Conference has had a long history of success in both cross country and track and field, a run which continued in the 2016-17 academic year.

To open the year, the conference placed a pair of runners in the top-75 at the 2016 NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships – led by a 50th place finish from Drake’s Reed Fischer.

The Valley had eight student-athletes receive All-American accolades at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and then bumped that number up to 11 honorees to close the year at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The MVC has boasted numerous individual champions over the years in a multitude of events, most recently DeAnna Price from Southern Illinois, who won back-to-back outdoor titles in the hammer throw in 2015 and 2016.

Looking Ahead to 2017

The first team conference championship for Valpo as members of The Valley will take place on Oct. 28 in Springfield, Mo., as Missouri State hosts the 2017 MVC Cross Country Championship.

UNI will play host to the 2018 MVC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 24-25 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, while Indiana State will welcome The Valley schools to Terre Haute for the 2018 MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 11-13.