The Indiana State men's cross country team competed Friday at the Indiana University Hoosier Invitational. Three men ran with Sycamore jerseys while 11 others competed unattached.

Unattached runners freshman runner Taylor Head and senior runner Andrew Lepkowski led the men through the 8k race. Head finished seventh in a time of 25:59 and Lepkowski finished 13th in 26:34.

"I was very pleased with Taylor. He is going to be a key player for us the next few years," said Head Coach John McNichols. "I know he will play a greater role as a 5th year senior, which is why we held him out."

Following were the three competitors for Indiana State: freshman runner Milton Brinza finished 14th in 16:36, junior runner Brandon Query finished 17th in 26:41, and junior runner Andrew Sullivan finished 23rd in 27:16.

Also competing unattached were junior runner Zach Miller in 25th place (27:28), junior runner Corey Hahn in 27th (27:32), freshman runner Gabe Ocasio in 29th (27:37), freshman runner Bryan Horsman in 37th (28:12), freshman runner Dylan Bertsch in 40th (28:31), freshman runner Luke Owens in 43rd (29:18), freshman runner Phillip Espinosa in 45th (29:41), freshman runner Steve Humes in 48th (30:26), and sophomore runner James Walters in 49th (30:26).

The meet also gave the ISU men's team a glimpse into their future squad.

"There will be a lot of freshmen that will step up next year when we loose Jeremiah, Craig, and Tyler," Hahn, who ran an 18 second personal best, said. "They will really be needed and will be very useful; there are plenty of spots that will need to be filled."

McNichols said that, along with red shirt freshman Head, next year will include the contribution of Ocasio and Miller as they recover from injuries. In addition, McNichols is counting on a strong recruiting year to enhance the team's depth.

"It is going to be a key year for recruiting," McNichols said. "We have the bodies to come back as a very good team, but it is still a critical recruiting year."

No score was kept for the Hoosier Invitational; the event allowed several unattached and junior varsity runners to emerge into competition settings. There were 50 runners competing in the men's race from schools, including Indiana University, Wabash College, Ohio State University, University of Toledo,and Indiana State University.

"It ended up being a really good day to race," Hahn said. "It was nice, sunny and warm. It was one last race for everybody of the year."

The men's varsity team rested this weekend to prepare for the Great Lakes Region Cross Country Championships in Toledo, Ohio  Saturday. The men are ranked 9th in the pre-NCAA Great Lakes Regional poll, a heightened placement following their Missouri Valley Conference win.

The top two teams and the top four individuals in each of the nine regions will automatically qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, as well as the next 13 at-large teams and two at-large individuals. There will be a total of 31 teams and 38 individuals racing at the Championship Meet.

"It's a very competitive region, and is traditionally one of the strongest," McNichols said.

McNichols said that the region competition begins to mix a bit following the dominate teams of Wisconsin University and Indiana University and the teams and individuals advancing to the national meet will depend on who races well at the right time.

The Sycamore men have a handful of runners that will be competing for the top 25 All-Region finish, which will open opportunity for an at-large spot in the national meet.