In their first meeting of 2023, the IHSAA voted, 11-6, to move the cross country tournament series from a four week series to now a three-week series effective this year.
The move will see the tournament now begin one week later with sectionals, regionals, and then the state meet. The semi-state round has been eliminated.
Dates
Sectionals - October 14th
Regionals - October 21st
State - October 28th
This new structure will see the top five teams and the top 15 individuals on non-advancing teams move on to the next round. This will increase the state meet participation numbers by 42 athletes per race.
Even though the vote is official, teams will have to wait until this summer to find out what host sites and sectional assignments will look like per the IHSAA news release.
Also on the table for voting, today were the two other proposals from the IATCCC. Both were voted approved unanimously. The top 25 individuals in both boys and girls races will now receive a medal in cross country. There will also be a common track entry platform that all meets will need to use throughout the season. There is no word at this time on what this will be or when it will be decided on.