The Butler cross country teams open the fall 2021 campaign Friday, hosting the Butler Twilight meet. The Northview Church Course in Carmel, Ind., plays host to the meet, just as it will for the 2021 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships on Oct. 29.
 
The Bulldog will compete Friday against BIG EAST rivals DePaul and Xavier, along with Cincinnati, IUPUI and the University of Indianapolis. Ball State's women's squad will also be in attendance.
 
The women's 5k race is scheduled for a starting gun at 6:45 p.m. The men's 6k will follow at approximately 7:15 p.m.
 
"We are looking forward to our first home meet in two years," said Butler coach Matt Roe. "We are thankful for the continued partnership with Northview Church as well as great field of schools coming to Carmel on Friday."
 
Butler's men won the most recent Butler Twilight (in 2019). Clark Otte won the event in 2019 and he returns, leading a young contingent who will toe the line for Friday's race. Otte is a two-time All-BIG EAST honoree in cross country.
 
"We will have one varsity returner competing with Clark (Otte) headlining the squad," said Roe. "As usual Clark had a fantastic summer of training and is in good form. He has his eyes set on not only returning to the varsity but becoming a full-time top-five scorer this year.
 
Our developing group of guys will occupy the majority of our line-up for the Twilight. We are excited about the progress we have made as a program top to bottom from a training and talent standpoint. This opening race will be a great opportunity for our emerging group to demonstrate the significant level of depth we have as a team."
 
Otte will be joined in the race by Ryan Adkins, Liam Dennis, Nick Doud, Trey Harris, Nate Lantz, Max Lauerman, Chandler McGaha, Conor Naughton, Sean Robertson, Carter Schorr, James Sweeney, and Andrew Taylor. Freshman Edouard Morin-Luzuy will run unattached.
 
Butler's women also captured the Butler Twilight title in 2019.
 
"We will race a portion of our top women's group this Friday and the other portion next week," said Roe. "Though this move may seem risky to try to win the meet as a team, I like our depth and I am looking for challenges that will prepare our team for the national level competitions ahead of us."
 
Friday's group includes Abby Fostveit, Camille Hines, Margo Hornocker, Ashlyn Minton, Katherine Olsen, Abby Olson, Corinna Pena, Madi Provo, Emily Royston, and Morgan Walsh. Four of Butler's talented freshmen will run unattached: Laure Bertrand, Quinn Shanahan, Elsa Rusthoven, and Ashley Learn.
 
Butler's men enter the season as the defending BIG EAST champions. This will be the team's first event since finishing 13th at the NCAA Championships, one of the best finishes in program history. Butler's men were picked ninth nationally in the preseason poll earlier this week.  
 
Simon Bedard returns after achieving All-American status in the spring. Bedard paced the Bulldogs at the NCAA Championships with a time of 30:44.5, finishing 37^th in the field. Barry Keane will be looking to build off of a successful 2020-21 campaign which saw him clock his collegiate best in the 10k with a time of 30:50.4 at the NCAA Championships, good enough for a 43^rd overall finish.
 
Pierre-Louis Detourbe, Jack McMahon and Otte, each of who competed as part of Butler's seven-man squad at the NCAA Championships last spring, also return this season.
 
The USTFCCCA has the Bulldog women ranked seventh in the Great Lakes Region preseason rankings. The Bulldogs, who return all 10 runners who crossed the finish line at the BIG EAST Championships in the spring, will aim to build off a fourth-place finish in the conference.
 
Leading the pack for the Bulldogs is Angelina Ellis who paced Butler in the BIG EAST Championships this past March with a 6K time of 20:57.4, finishing in 11th place overall. Mia Beckham, who finished right behind Ellis at the BIG EAST Championships with a time of 21:00.4, also returns.
 
Margo Hornocker and Kami Hankins will add talent and experience to the Bulldog lineup. Hornocker and Hankins both crossed the line together at 18^th and 19^th at the BIG EAST Championships. Emily Royston, who earned 2019 All-BIG EAST honors, is also a returner who has experience as a member of Butler's 2019 BIG EAST championship team.