XC Weekend Preview: A Running Safari

Armory Track will be on hand at Six Flags in New Jersey this weekend as runners will be cutting through the largest drive-thru safari outside of Africa. This one might provide some memorable photos!

Here's what else is happening around the region this weekend:

Bruce MacDonald Invitational

A new meet will be contested at 4:30 pm on Thursday afternoon. The course is on both trails and concrete so spikes are not suggested. The race distance will be 5000m for varsity and jayvee and 1.5 miles for freshmen.

New Balance Ocean State Invitational

Now in its fifth year, this meet draws teams from all of New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Teams square off in three varsity races each for boys and girls. The venue, Goddard Park, is a long-time venue for high school and college races.

The Greenwich (N.Y.) girls should be in contention for the title in the championship section after a strong showing last weekend at the VVS Invitational. Other New York teams slated to race are Averill Park, Benjamin Cardozo, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Brewster, Our Lady of Lourdes, Stillwater and La Salle Institute. New Jersey teams attending include Immaculate Heart, Stevens, St. Rose and Delbarton.

Baldwinsville Invitational

Fifty-eight schools and more than 2,000 runners will head to Baldwinsville for a dozen races that run from 9:15 am to 2:30 pm. In the large schools race, the home team should be the favorite as it is ranked No. 10 NYS-A. The Marcellus boys should have a shot at the small schools boys title.

Bowdoin Cross Country Classic

Twenty-nine boys teams and 24 girls will head to Bowdoin Park to run the famed 5,000m course. Usually teams travel from out of state for this one as Bowdoin is the site of the Nike Cross Nationals New York and North East Regional. Last year the boys of powerful CBA of N.J. and the Guilderland (N.Y.) girls won the varsity races. Races start at 11 am.

Carlisle High School Invitational

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York states will all be sending teams to Carlisle, Pa. The girls course record should be safe as last year's Foot Locker National Champion Aisling Cuffe of Cornwall (N.Y.) ran 18:06.0 here in 2008. Washingtonville (N.Y.) will once again be running, as Lauren Herir will try to take another Carlisle title. She won the Champions race in 18:52 back in 2009. Her older brother won the Challenge race here a year ago in 15:40.

East Aurora Invitational

Last year more than 30 teams competed on the mostly grass, three-mile course that has some wooded trails. Pittsford Sutherland edged East Aurora in that meet for the large school title while the host girls won easily.

E.J. Herrmann Invitational

More than three dozen New York high schools will descend on Proctor Park for the 69th running of this upstate invitational, one of the oldest meets in New York. Ten races will be run from 9:30 am to 1:40 pm. Niskayuna (NY-A No. 9) and Cicero-North Syracuse (NY-A No. 13) are the top-ranked girls team entered in the meet. CNS is the top ranked boys team in the large schools race while Holland Patent (NY-C No. 8) and Beaver River (NY-D No. 3) are two of the better small schools entered. The Remsen girls (NY-D No. 2) and Sauquoit Valley (NY-C No. 14) should be squaring off as well.

Fred Gressler Invitational

The campus of White Plains High School, which anyone who's every been to the Loucks Games knows, is quite hilly. This meet usually attracts about 15 Secion 1 and NYC teams, split into two divisions. Last year Clarkstown North and Mamaroneck won the boys' races while Irvington and Notre Dame (Staten Island) won the girls'.

Galway Invitational

This meet has a great old country feel to it. Held on the grounds of Bob's Tree Farm, the course is two loops on the packed dirt farm roads. It's a fantastic local meet and a great spectator course. Usually about 20 Section 2 teams attend, with the occasionally outside squad showing up. With very little parking on the farm, you'll know you're almost there when you start seeing cars lining the road, very much like most state championships.

Hickories Invitational

Usually about 20 Section 4 teams head to Hickories Park to square off on this relatively flat 5,000m course. Seven races will be run from 9 am until around noon.

JFK Sterling Invitational

The oldest invitational held in Westchester County is held on the campus of Kennedy Catholic High School, a private school in Somers. The campus has some very nice trails and rolling grass hills on a course that has changed some because of construction of a new church. Sister Janet Meehan is still the coach and meet director for the meet, as she has been for more than 40 years. Usually about a dozen local schools attend with the occasional Connecticut team showing up.

Manchester Invitational

This course includes grass, asphalt and dirt with sufficient hills and two steeplechase barriers, something very uncommon in U.S. high school cross country. More than 80 schools will once again be competing on New Hampshire's largest invitational, now in its 37th year. While most teams are from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Deptford (N.J.) boys and Burnt Hills (N.Y.) girls will be making the trip up. Click here for full meet information.

PSAL Group Run

The meet is open to NYC PSAL teams only. Eight races will be contested from 10 am until 12:45 pm on the famed trails at Vanny — freshman (1.5 miles), sophomore (2.5 miles), junior (3.1 miles) and varsity (3.1 miles) races for boys and girls. Click here for full meet information.

Queensbury Invitational

This is another classic cross country course with two large hills, wide trails and a long, grass finish that is great for spectators. The meet has been bigger in the past as the 2005 NYSPHSAA was contested here. Last year around 20 schools attended. Queensbury has been one of the best programs in New York state for some time as the boys are NY-B No. 14 and girls NY-B No. 5 this year.

Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational — Boys
Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational — Girls

What a great idea for a meet. The athletes get to race through the Wild Safari, with the animals, and then get to go into Six Flags for a reduced rate. The Armory's Ian Brooks will also be on hand to annouce as 120 teams will face off in four varsity races for boys and girls. Many top teams and individuals are attending:

Varsity A
Girls — Liz Predmore (Shenendehowa, N.Y.), Julie Macedo & Amanda Rickert (Charter School of Wilmington, Del.), Meghan McGovern (North Penn, Pa.), Dina Iacone (Washington) and Elizabeth Hekker (North Rockland, N.Y.). Teams: Shenendehowa, Charter School of Wilmington.

Boys — Steve Flynn (Edison), Sean Fergusen (St. John Baptist). Teams: Syosset (N.Y.); Massapequa (N.Y.)

Varsity B
Girls — Kelly Hayes (Pearl River), Ursula Svoboda (Suffern). Teams: Suffern (No. 7 NY-A); Pearl River (No. 10 NY-B)

Boys — Riley Leder (Colts Neck), Luke Dermody (Hightstown), Chris Teenager (St Mark's, Del.), Dylan Palacio (Long Beach, N.Y.). Teams: Bronxville (No. 1 NY-C); Colts Neck

Varsity C
Girls — Dana Giordano (Bernards), Nisa Cicitta & Shannon Carney (Voorhees). Teams: Voorhees (No. 1 NJ); RBC (No. 4 N.J.)

Varsity D
Girls — Briana Feerst (Point Pleasant Beach), Meghan Malloy & Shelby Cain (Haddonfield), Megan Young (Nanuet). Teams: Nanuet (No. 7 NY-B); Tri-Valley (No. 10 NY-C); Mount St. Dominic (No. 6 NJ, No. 1 Non-Public B)

Click here for a full meet preview from the Track Show.

Suffolk Coaches Invitational

Nearly 50 schools will head to Sunken Meadow State Park to tackle the 5,000m course which includes the full cemetary hill. All of the girls teams and all but one of the boys this year are from Long Island with Midwood of Brooklyn being the lone exception.

Teams are split between two varsity races each with a total of 12 races contested from 9:30 am to 1:25 pm.

Warwick Wave Mania Invitational

Close to 40 schools will head to Sanfordville Elementary School, the site of the 2006 NYSPHSAA Championships. The course is beautiful, with rolling grass hills, and the runners can been seen from across the open fields. With apple picking near by and a quaint village, you can't ask for a better scene for a meet.

Throw in good competition and this meet promises to once again be fun for all. The boys Varsity I race has Warwick Valley, Pawling, Kellenberg, Fordham Prep, Carmel and Cornwall — all quality teams. The boys Varsity II has Pearl River, Pope John (N.J.), Suffern, Monroe-Woodbury and Rhinebeck among the 18 teams.

I'll never forget the 2006 State Championships at Warwick for it was Fayetteville-Manlius' coming-out party. F-M beat the two previous national champions Hilton (N.Y.) and Saratoga Springs (N.Y.), 67-71-73. It was the first time I really paid a lot of attention to them and the Hornets have not lost since that race. (I'm still shocked that Saratoga was not invited to NXN that year. I actually thought they had a chance to win.)

The girls' Varsity I will see Valley Central, Rhinebeck, Monroe-Woodbury and Bronxville. Bronxville, of course, has one of the best runners in the country in sophomore Mary Cain and the team is ranked No. 1 NY-C and top five overall.

Girls' Varsity II has Pawling, Warwick Valley, Pope John (N.J.), Newburgh and Cornwall.

Western New York Invitational

This is yet another meet that splits up a team's top runners into different races. While I guess it can be a nice change of pace it seems contrary to treating cross country as a team sport where a coach wants his runners to stick together. This meet will run eight races from 10:30 am until 2 pm at Beaver Island State Park, where races have been run for years.

Xavier Invitational

Almost 30 teams wil tackle the 2.5-mile course at Vanny to try and get some good times in. The meets bills itself as "an old fashioned, beginning of the season meet." There is no 'official' team score. "We just want to give the kids an opportunity to have a fast race early in the season." Historically we have seen some very good performances at this meet.

The meet kicks off at 12:10 pm and seven races will be run by the time it ends around 2:15 pm.

Stanford Invitational

Both high schools and colleges will head to 'The Farm' for another running of the Stanford Invitational. With so many New York and New Jersey high school runners now on the Stanford team (11 total), we'll be keeping an eye on the results. Cornwall's Ailing Cuffe is expected to make her collegiate debut.

While entries were not available at this time, I did notice something interesting on the entry form. High school division sizes in California are quite different than New York. Division 1 (2101+), Division II (1651-2100), Division III (1151-1650), Division IV (500-1150), and Division V (499-).

First of all they have five divisions, as New York used to and should have. Secondly, they split up each division a little more fairly in my opinion.

Roy Griak Invitational

This is another high school and college meet, with the college portion being one of the biggest and best all season long. Eight races will be contested, three men's and women's college races each and one boys' and girls' high school race.

For complete meet information, visit GopherSports.com

Passaic County Coaches Invitational

There'll be 20 races run at Garret Mountain, a staple on the New Jersey cross country scene for years. Close to 50 teams will toe the line. Last year the Randolph boys beat Ridgewood to win the Group 4 title.

NJCTC Stewart Invitational

Another rather large invitational in New Jersey, this one with 16 races being contested.

George School Invitational

The 59th running of this meet should see about 15 mostly private schools attend and run three races.

Council Rock Invitational

Close to 30 teams will head to Newtown, Pa., for the five races held from 10 am to noon.

PIAA Foundation Invitational

This is the big one in Pennslyvania this weekend as close to 75 schools will get a preview of the State Championship course (actually called the 'Poop-Out Hill Course').

If you're curious about entries and meet information, you should check out Penn Track XC for more information.