District Championship Sat. 10/19 (High School only)

District Results:
Boys Division III
Girls Division III

Course maps: Findlay Owens 5K Course

Owens Community College – Findlay Campus
3200 Bright Road
Findlay, OH 45840

Meet Notes – This is it…the “win or go home” point of the season. It’s the date circled on our calendars that we work back from in terms of our training cycle. We look to peak these next two weeks as we seek to advance to the next level.  This year, we face an uphill challenge due to changes in the District meets. Whereas the last two years have seen a draw based on seed voting by all of the coaches, with the Division III split into to districts, this year we return to a single race.  Some familiar competitors are now running at Ottawa Glandorf, but the girls race in particular is stacked with talented teams this year.  With the changes, the top five teams and any individuals in the top 20 overall advance to Regionals in Tiffin on 11/26.

Some great story lines to watch this year:

• Our girls team was very young last year with five freshmen, a sophomore and a senior. This year is similar with two freshmen, four sophomores and a junior…but five of the runners have District experience.  As mentioned, the girls race is stacked with talent, so it’s going to take our very best to have any chance of advancing. Can the girls make it FOUR straight years?
• The boys also have an experience team, with only two making their first trip to Findlay. Moreover, they have been on a tear lately with their pack running and consistency, lead by school record holder Augie. We don’t have seeding to go by this year, but their team average puts them in contention. Can this become the first ever boys team to advance to Regionals?
• Fresh off a school record performance at leagues, Augie looks to repeat as an individual qualifier to Tiffin.  Kennedy will look to join him with a Top 20 finish.
• This year’s league meet at Bryan was run on a very fast course under near perfect conditions.  Findlay has seen some very fast times as well, including a school record for the girls in 2017.
• We have a couple senior boys who may be running their last cross country race of their high school career.  This is the most bittersweet aspect of this time of year. Here’s hoping they get one more week!

Those are all exciting aspects of this race, but at the end of the day the ends of those stories have yet to be written.  Average times and recent races don’t break records or qualify to move on…we have to execute.  As we told the athletes this week, we can’t spend time worrying about what we can’t control…how many good teams there are, how those teams run, what the weather is like. We have to focus on what we can control: our preparation this week and our performance this Saturday.

The course is exactly the same as the past three years: it’s flat and pretty fast.  It’s also fairly spectator friendly, allowing folks the chance to see the start, most of the first mile, and the finish with only a moderate amount of walking.  There are a lot of straightaways, but there are also some sharp turns that keep it interesting.

This will be a long day…we leave at 8:15am and won’t get back until mid-afternoon, so rest is essential. We arrived with about the same amount of prep time last year and it was just about perfect, so we are looking to keep the same type of schedule this year.  The runners will have plenty of time to walk and examine the course, and to get themselves mentally and physically prepared for their race.  The atmosphere at this meet it usually pretty great, and we anticipate the same this year.  We will be sticking around to wait on the official results to be posted for the boys before we pack up and get ready to leave (and there are always plenty of photo opportunities after).

NWOAL Championship Sat. 10/12 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/nwoal/2019/

Bryan Recreation Park
Horton Trail (drop-off location)
Bryan, OH 43506

Bryan Course Map – High School

Bryan Course Map – Middle School

Spectator Parking Locations

Meet Notes: The final stretch of another season is upon us. Each year a different district in the NWOAL has the opportunity to host the league championship meet, and this year the honor falls to Bryan.  The great thing about the league meet is that everybody runs; there is no varsity race. For the middle school runners, this is the last meet of the season and their opportunity to finish out year competing against their league rivals.  For the high school, it’s a great chance to see the training cycle start to peak as we get ready for Districts.

The Bryan course is in a nice park in Bryan (NOT at the high school) and is a very flat course.  The weather is supposed to be exactly what we want: cool and cloudy.  Spectators should dress for the weather, and athletes should “dress for the second mile” but be sure to bring warm ups to shed at the starting line.  Note that spectator parking is in lots scattered around the outside of the park (see link above) so you may need to look a bit to find a spot and walk to the course area.

Hudson Booster Invitational Sat. 10/5 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/161131/info

Course maps:
Hudson High School Course
Hudson Middle School Course

Hudson High School
746 N Maple Grove Ave
Hudson, MI 49247

Liberty Center Widewater Invitational Sat. 9/21 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/libertycenter/2019/

2019 Widewater Info and Map

Widewater Retreat Center
4050 Old US24
Liberty Center, OH 43532

*Parking Note – Do not go to the main park entrance. Parking is off of County Road 4 west of the park and should be marked.  There is a $5 charge for parking, and it’s a bit of a hike from the parking area to the starting line so plan accordingly.

Schedule:

Fayette Eagle Invitational – Sat. 9/14 (High School and Middle School)

Harrison Lake State Park
26246 Harrison Lake Road
Fayette, OH 43521

Results online at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/fayette/2019/

7:15am – Leave from High School (est. arrival at Harrison Lake 8:00am)
9:00am – Girls middle school race
9:30am – Boys middle school race
10:00am – Girls high school race
10:45am – Boys high school race
1:00pm – Estimated return to Evergreen

Notes – One of the most beautiful courses we run with a few moderate hills and lots of wooded trails. This course has been pretty fast for middle school runners over the years, with many runners setting a personal record at the meet.  It’s also a course that has changed nearly every year, making it somewhat unpredictable (one of the reasons the high school hasn’t participated the past three seasons).

From a spectator standpoint, the start and finish areas are usually fairly close together, with the finish being a long stretch great for cheering.  As mentioned, the course has been modified several times over the years, so double check the start and finish locations on arrival in case they’ve been moved again.   Be sure to give yourself extra time to find a parking spot and walk to the start/finish area.

Archbold Invitational Sat. 9/7 (Middle School only)

Results available at https://www.baumspage.com/cc/archbold/2019/

Archbold Reservoir
502 South Street (parking)
Archbold, OH 43502

8:20am – Bus leaves from the Middle School (est. arrival 9:00am)
10:30am – Middle school girls
11:00am – Middle school boys
1:00pm (est.) – Bus returns to Middle School

Archbold Course Map

Meet Notes – Believe it or not, this is one of the oldest courses we still run on and it hasn’t changed much over the years. This meet involves loops around the larger and smaller reservoirs, with hills in between and a downhill finish. The middle school makes one loop around each reservoir. This a very “manageable” meet for middle school runners as the course is not very complicated. This is not a fast course despite being mostly flat; in part, because it’s so open and flat. It’s much harder to push your pace running a one mile long circle around the reservoir. Still, all the runner have to run the same loops, so it’s a chance to get out and compete against some of our NWOAL rivals. Archbold hosted the NWOAL League Meet here last year, so many of our runners are already familiar with this course.

Spectators can see pretty much the entire race, although individual runners can be a little hard to make out when they’re on the far side of the water.  The most exciting parts…the start, finish and crossover between reservoirs…are all within close proximity though so it’s a good meet to watch.

*There will be concessions available. However, we ask that athletes have a healthy breakfast that morning and NOT eat concession food until after they have competed. We will have healthy snacks provided by parents; athletes are strongly encouraged to partake of these after competing.

Tiffin Cross Country Carnival Sat. 9/7 (High School only)

Results available at https://www.baumspage.com/cc/tiffin/2019/

Course maps: High School Course

Hedges Boyer Park
491 Coe St.
Tiffin, OH 44883

• Tiffin is about 90 minutes from EHS, so give yourself plenty of time
• Parking can be challenging. Plan to enter on Summit Street (the “bottom” of the park) and walk to the upper area.  You can enter off Coe Street, but you have to pass through several areas that are blocked off during races, making it very difficult to get through. Again, give yourself plenty of time.
• They run a VERY tight schedule. If they say the girls’ varsity race is at 9:35 AM, that gun will go off at 9:35 AM.
• The side of the start area near the finish is typically very crowded, as are several other areas on that side of the course. There’s a lot of people here, so bring a dose of patience 🙂
• Cell coverage is really bad. Calling, texting, tweeting, etc. is a gamble at any given time.
• The t-shirts for this meet are usually pretty cool, and you’ll often see runners wearing them at other meets throughout the year. This meet is somewhat legendary among the high school cross country community.
• We are planning on stopping for lunch during the drive back. We welcome anyone to join us, just be advised it may be crowded with 23 runners plus coaches and parents. We’ll let everyone know Saturday where we decided to stop.