PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release September 18, 2009 Contact: Scott Schricker
No. 36/09 (804) 285-9495 x229
Best cross country field in the U.S. so far this year
Richmond, VA – With the high school team entry period now closed, it is clear that the September 25-26, 2009 U.S. Army X-Country Festival at Maymont is once again a must-do meet for many of the country’s most competitive programs.
“This is as good an invitational field as we’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot,” meet director Dan Ward says. “This is the strongest multi-state cross country field in the U.S. to date this year.”
Over two hundred and fifty teams representing almost 90 schools from 12 states and the District of Columbia have registered over 2,300 runners. Teams from California, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. will travel to Richmond for the Sports Backers-organized event.
High school team events are scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, while open events, which include a one-mile kids run for elementary schoolers, and an open 5k will be held Friday, Sept. 25 starting at 5:30 p.m. And the open 13.1-mile half marathon will start at 7 a.m. on Saturday, followed by an open 3k race for middle school boys and girls at 9 a.m.
The highlight of the high school meet is the Girls and Boys Invitational races on Saturday morning. In the Girls Invitational at 10:15 a.m., two of the top ten teams in the U.S., Blacksburg, Virginia (#8) and Tatnall, Delaware (#10), headline a field that includes many teams that are rated among the tops in their state, including Maggie Walker (#2), Archmere Academy, Delaware (#2), Brookwood, Georgia (#3), East Chapel Hill, North Carolina (#3) and Lee-Davis (#6).
On the boys’ side, the Invitational field at 11:05 a.m. is highlighted by Blacksburg, the #1-ranked team in Virginia. They will be challenged by three outstanding teams from Delaware (Archmere Academy, Salesianum School and Tatnall), New Jersey (Cherokee), Tennessee (Morristown-West) and Virginia (including Grafton, James River, and Jamestown).
For more information on the U.S. Army X-country Festival at Maymont, including a full meet schedule, go to www.sportsbackers.org/events/xcountry/xcountry_festival.htm.
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