Field packed with powerhouse teams for Sept. 28 event
RICHMOND, VA – Team registration for the 5th annual McDonald’s X-Country Festival at Maymont, which has quickly become one of the top high school meets in the country, is scheduled to close at 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 9. Registration is available at www.directathletics.com and meet information can be found at www.sportsbackers.org.
The meet will once again boast a high quality field featuring top schools from Virginia and throughout the mid-Atlantic and southeast. As of September 5, the following schools are registered to participate:
| Virginia Schools Abingdon Albemarle Amelia County Atlee Benedictine Bishop Oconnell Blacksburg Brentsville Caroline Cave Spring Chancellor Charlottesville Cumberland Gap Essex Fluvanna County Forest Park Fork Union Military Freeman, Douglas Gar-Field Glenvar Greenbriar Christian Hanover Henrico Heritage Patrick Henry (Ashland) Patrick Henry (Roanoake) Potomac Hidden Valley James River (Midlothian) Jamestown Lebanon Louisa County Massaponax Midlothian Mountain View New Kent Northumberland Oakton Powhatan Radford Sherando Smithfield St Catherines Tabb Trinity Episcopal Tucker, JR Turner Ashby Varina Walsingham Academy Washington-Lee West Point West Springfield Western Albemarle
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| Other Schools Abington (PA) Archbisop Carroll (DC) Archmere (DE) Brookwood (GA) Calvert Hall College (MD) Cambridge/SD (MD) Crested Butte (CO) Dover (DE) Dulaney (MD) East Forsyth (NC) Mauldin (SC) Meade (MD) Medina (OH) Mooresville (NC) Morgantown (WV) Northern-Cal (MD) Oak Ridge (TN) Orange (NC) Roosevelt (DC) St Bernard (CT) Tatnall (DE) Walton (GA) Winston Churchill (MD) |
“The Sports Backers have built a strong national reputation of hosting top quality road races that make the events both entertaining and competitive,” said Jon Lugbill executive director of the Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers. “The goal of the McDonald’s X-Country Festival at Maymont was to build an event that celebrated high school cross country running at all levels. We want the athletes and the coaches to walk away wanting to come back every year because it is so much fun to be part of this event for the whole team.”
The success of the meet is reflected in its growth over the years:
Year Total Runners
2003 1,990
2004 2,443
2005 2,686
2006 4,204
In 2006 high school meet director Dan Ward has made the recruitment of top teams a priority and has succeeded in turning the McDonald’s X-Country Festival at Maymont into a must-do event for the country’s top teams.
“We’re proud of the meet experience we are able to offer,” said Ward. “While cross country runners don’t receive the attention of Friday night football we have worked hard to put the cross-country runners in the limelight during this meet and give them the first class treatment they deserve.”
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Field packed with powerhouse teams for Sept. 28 event