Race Info

Otsego Invitational Info

Phil Schwan 2017, Race Info

2016 Otsego Ashton

Otsego Invitational Sat. 9/2 (High School only)

Results and info available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/otsego/inv/2017/

Course maps:

High School Course

Mary Jane Thurston State Park
1466 State Route 65
McClure, OH 43534

8:00am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 8:45am)
10:00am – HS Varsity girls race
10:40am – HS Open girls race
11:20pm – HS Varsity boys race
12:00pm – HS Open boys race
12:40pm – Adult Run (open to anyone for $5 entry)
2:00pm – Expected return to Evergreen

Parking – Parking is limited at Mary Jane. Overflow parking will be located at the Marina located ½ mile west of Mary Jane. A shuttle bus will shuttle spectators to the park and back. Spectators are also welcome to park in Historic Downtown Grand Rapids and walk the scenic tow path to Mary Jane. You can enter the tow path behind Rita’s Dairy Bar, just west of LaRoe’s Restaurant or at the town park. To park in town you will continue straight at the Marathon station instead of traveling left to stay on Rt. 65.

Meet Notes – This is our second time running this course, and hopefully the experience will help!  This course can be very confusing; we had one runner get lost and have to back track, and others watch multiple runners go outside the (somewhat poorly) marked course.  Still, it’s another traditional cross country course with grass flats, wooded trails, a steep hill, and even a water hazard. This race marked a turning point for a few new runners last year, and hopefully will provide the same opportunity again this year.

This meet does have both a varsity and open race, meaning for the boys team the top 7 from Defiance will run in the varsity race and the rest will run the open race.  They also provide an adult open race at the end of the meet where any adult can register for $5 and run the course for time, so it’s a great opportunity for spectator-parents who always wondered what the courses our athletes run are really like.

*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.

Defiance Early Bird Invitational Info

Phil Schwan 2017, Race Info
2016 Defiance Ashley Katie
Ashley and Katie work together through the first mile at Defiance

Defiance Early Bird Open Sat. 8/26 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/ccframe.php?path=./defiance/2017

Course maps:

Defiance High School Course

Defiance Middle School Course

Camp Lakota
2180 Ginter Road
Defiance, OH 43512

6:30am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 7:45am)
9:00am – HS boys race
9:45am – HS girls race
10:30pm – MS boys race
11:00am – MS girls race
1:00pm – Estimated return time

Meet Notes – This is a fairly challenging course, but a great example of what cross country is all about. The high school runners get a fairly flat first mile before running down “The Hill” and into the trail portion (the Middle School just goes right down the hill).  The second mile of the course is different this year; there is still the moderate second hill, but instead of looping all the way around the lake in the woods, it turns back and runs along the front side. The benefit is primarily for spectators in that you don’t have to go all the way back to the far side of the lake for the 2-mile mark (it should be roughly near the boathouse).  The course loops back to head up “The Hill” before turning to the finish.  From a spectator standpoint, the start, mile mark and finish are all right in the same area, with “The Hill” being only a short walk away.

*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.

Lake MS Invitational Info

Phil Schwan 2017, Race Info

Lake Middle School Invitational Thu. 8/24 (Middle School only)

Course map*:

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*Note – course map based on the 2016 meet. They’ve been known to change it, so we’ll update it if we get new information.

Lake Middle School
28100 Lemoyne Road
Millbury, OH 43447

3:00pm – Bus leaves from Middle School (est. arrival 4:00pm)

5:00pm – First race (assume a race kicking off every 30 minutes or so)

8:00pm – Estimated return time

Meet Notes – This is a unique one for the Middle School runners as they run 7th grade and 8th grade separately, so the new 7th grade runners are a little more relaxed not having to compete directly against the 8th graders.  It’s a moderately fast course that starts just outside the track and ends at the start/finish line on the track.  The map provided is an approximation of the route, which has changed slightly over the years. The mile mark is on the south side of the school, and they hit the mile as they’re coming back across it.  If you walk fast, you can get from the start line by the field house across the parking lots to the mile mark before the runners, and get back across the parking lot to see them finish on the track (although you may question who’s getting the better workout if you’re trying to beat the frontrunners).

**There will be concessions available. However, we ask that athletes have a healthy lunch 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 before and after competing.

District Championship Info

Phil Schwan 2016, Race Info

2015 District boys huddleDistrict Championships Sat. 10/22 (High School only)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/dist/2016/index.php

Course maps: Findlay Owens 5K Course

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

10:00am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 11:30am)
1:00pm – D-3 HS boys race
3:00pm – D-3 HS girls race
7:00pm – Estimated return time (updates to be sent via Remind)
Meet Notes – Our high school team traveled down to Findlay on Tuesday to preview this course.  The verdict: it’s a Northwest Ohio course…flat, open and windy.  In other words, it’s what we train on week in and week out.  The weather forecast is calling for highs in the mid-50’s and windy for Saturday. We are at the peak of our training right now as well, so we’ll see how individual performances turn out.
From a team standpoint though, we are very focused.  The girls team has an excellent shot at advancing to the Regional meet in Tiffin next weekend, but it’s definitely not a given.  There are sixteen schools running; eight of them fielded full teams of at least five runners last week at their respective league meets, and only four teams will advance.  Our girls have had this on their radar for several weeks now, using last week’s league meet as a ramp up.  We are in that point of the season now where it’s place or go home, and these girls are very capable of advancing.  That we’re even talking about advancing just a year after we didn’t even have enough runners to place as a team and lost our top two runners to injury tells you how hard these ladies have worked.
While the boys team is much more of a long shot right now, they are still quite focused on competing at their best. As mentioned last week, they are a very young team so this experience will be invaluable to them in the coming seasons. We will give it our absolute best and see where we land.  Last year, we finished 14th out of 15 teams; this year, we’re looking for the type of continued improvement we’ve seen from them throughout the season.
For parents: We are looking to stop somewhere for dinner after the completion of the girls race and receipt of any earned awards.  As such, the bus will likely not be back to the high school until early evening, so please plan accordingly. We will send out information on where we plan to stop, and everyone is more than welcome to join us in fellowship and celebration.

Hudson Invitational Info

Phil Schwan 2016, Race Info

20161001_123950

Hudson Invitational Sat. 10/8 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=119449

Course maps:
Hudson High School Course
Hudson Middle School Course

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

*NOTE – This meet charges $5 per person for admission

Middle School Schedule
7:00am – Middle School bus leaves (ETA 7:45am)
9:00am – MS boys race
9:30am – MS girls race
11:00am – Estimated HS return
High School Schedule
7:30am – High School bus leaves (ETA 8:15am)
10:30am – HS Varsity boys race
11:30am – HS Varsity girls race
12:00pm – HS JV/Open race
1:30pm – Estimated HS return
Meet Notes – Another new meet for us this season.  This is a long-standing meet with a pretty good reputation, and I know some of our other league teams like Wauseon and Delta have run this meet.  The Middle School race promises to be HUGE as there are 43 schools listed to participate and they run 6th, 7th and 8th graders.  While we haven’t seen the course in person, indications from maps and pictures are that it’s mostly flat with a few small hills. If there is any significant rain in the latter half of the week, it’s a good bet the course will get muddy pretty quickly.
Logistics: As mentioned above, there is a $5 admission fee for all spectators, so please plan accordingly.  We are planning for the Middle School and High School athletes to leave separately for this meet to prevent the former from having to stay an extra three hours after their race.  The overall race schedule appears…aggressive…given the number of schools involved, so I’m skeptical about the ability to keep to that schedule.  For the HS runners, please bear this in mind given whatever Homecoming plans you may have for later in the afternoon.  Just be advised that we do still expect all HS athletes to be there to cheer on the runners in the JV race and help clean up the team camp site before leaving.
*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.

Clay Eagle Invitational Info

Phil Schwan 2016, Race Info
2015 Clay Grace
Grace tries to dodge the raindrops while turning in a lifetime best.

Clay Eagle Invitational Sat. 10/1 (High School only)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/clay/2016

Course maps: High School

Pearson Park
4600 Starr Avenue
Oregon, OH 43616

8:30am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 9:45am)
11:20am – HS girls varsity race
12:00pm – HS boys varsity race
1:20pm – HS boys jv/open race
3:00pm – Estimated return time
Meet Notes – There’s a lot to be excited about for this meet. After a great meet at Widewater last weekend, we visit what has been one of our fastest courses in past years.  The Pearson Park course starts and finishes in an open grass field, but the rest of the race is all park trails.  It is completely flat…no hills to speak of…so it lends itself to a fast pace.  Oddly enough though, while it has seen some extremely fast times for the Middle School over the years, the High School times have been a little bit of a let down after Widewater.  Part of this has been the weather; last year was a cold, rainy affair that was very much “make or break” for our runners (this still stands as Grace’s PR race).  However, with the workouts we saw this week I would not be surprised to see more PR’s come our way.  At this point, anything is possible for these runners. It’s a good field, and we’ll see some of our NWOAL and District competitors in the race.
From a spectator standpoint, it’s a long drive (made longer by all the construction), and parking is often a challenge so get there early if you can.  While we don’t race until 11:20, there are four races before that (Middle School and D1 high school), so it’s likely to be crowded.  You do get a great view of the start and finish as the runners cross and circle the open field, but the rest of the race is obscured by the trails.
*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.

Widewater Invitational Info

Phil Schwan 2016, Race Info

2015-widewater-john-water2

Liberty Center Widewater Invitational Sat. 9/24 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/libertycenter/2016

Course maps:
High School
Middle School

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:

7:30am – Bus leaves from EHS (est. arrival 8:00am)
9:00am – Middle School girls race
9:30am – Middle School boys race
10:00am – Middle School awards
12:15pm – High School girls race
1:00pm – High School boys race
1:45pm – High School awards
2:30pm – Estimated return to EHS
Meet Notes – This course is a perennial favorite.  It offers a little bit of everything: fast/flat first mile, grassy and rolling second mile, and the third mile includes wooded trails, a water hazard followed by a steep hill, and a flat, open finish.  From a spectator standpoint, here is pretty good viewing of the start, one mile mark, and the finish (as well as “the hill” near the finish).  Most of the rest of the course is accessible, just be prepared to get some exercise!
The high school band has a concert later the same day, with a report time at the high school of 3:33pm. While we anticipate the bus being back with an hour to spare, parents of participating band members may want to consider arranging for transportation as soon as the HS boys’ race is finished. We don’t want race delays, a lengthy awards session, or bus/traffic issues to prevent band students from getting to the school on time.  Please let us know of any transportation arrangements BEFORE the meet if possible.
*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.

Fayette Invitational Info (EMS)

Phil Schwan 2016, Race Info
2015 Fayette Alexis
Alexis powers up the hill to the finish

Fayette Eagle Invitational – Sat. 9/17
Harrison Lake State Park
26246 Harrison Lake Road
Fayette, OH 43521

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

Notes – One of the most beautiful courses we run with a few moderate hills and lots of wooded trails. It did rain quite a bit last year, but it looks like it may be a pleasant day this time around.  This course was pretty fast for the middle school last year, and nearly every runner set a personal record at the meet. Be sure to give yourself extra time to find a parking spot and walk to the start/finish area.

*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 snacks provided.

Ottawa-Glandorf Invitational Info (EHS)

Phil Schwan 2016, Race Info
2016-nwoal-preview-sarah-trinity
Sarah and Trinity work the NWOAL Preview meet Tuesday as they get ready for Ottawa-Glandorf this weekend

Ottawa-Glandorf Invitational Sat. 9/17 (High School only)

Results and info available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/ottawa/2016/

Course maps:

High School Course

Ottawa Memorial Park
730 N Locust St
Ottawa, OH 45875

6:30am – Meet at High School (bus leaves 6:45am sharp, est. arrival 8:00am)
9:30am – HS Varsity boys race
10:40am – HS Varsity girls race
1:00pm – Expected return to Evergreen

Meet Notes – Another new meet for us, but also another established one.  It’s also a bit of a haul to get down there, so plan accordingly.  This course can be very fast and has hosted District Championship meets in the past for several districts.  It should be a great opportunity to knock down some PR’s and starts a run of great courses over the next few weeks (including Widewater and Clay).

*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.

NWOAL Preview Meet Info

Phil Schwan 2016, Race Info

This year’s NWOAL Championship Meet will be hosted by Swanton High School. As with years past, they will be hosting a preview meet to allow all league teams a chance to see and run the course.  The “race” is typically run with boys and girls together; no official timing or placement, and uniforms are not necessary.

Here are the details:

Swanton High School
601 N Main St
Swanton, OH 43558

Course maps:

Swanton NWOAL High School Course
Swanton NWOAL Middle School Course

3:45pm – Bus leaves Evergreen High School (ETA 4:00pm)
5:00pm – Gun goes off for preview run
6:30pm – Estimated return time to EHS

Notes – Because this is not a regular meet, we typically treat it as more of an off-site workout. While we will have some sections of the course done at pace, most of it will be an easy recovery from Monday’s long run.  Again, the goal is to give the runners a chance to familiarize themselves with the course so that there are no surprises at the championship meet.