By Mike McCormick
Having traveled all over the country for cross country competitions, Susannah Piersol might just win a junior national championships in her backyard.
At the 2008 USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships set for December 13, 2008 at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Virginia, more than 3,000 athletes from across the United States will be vying for a shot at the title of cross country All-American and junior national champion. Piersol, who was second in her age group last year, will be one of them.
“Personally, I think it’s really neat to have competed on a national level,” says Piersol, a 17-year-old senior at Maggie Walker Governor’s School. “You get so nervous, but it’s a good nervous because you can just let it out in your run. And I think the intensity is good prep for college racing.”
Already an all-American cross country runner thanks her second place last year (the top 25 runners in the JOXC earn all-American status,) Piersol is grateful that such an important event falls in familiar territory. “I’m going to have fun on my home course,” says Piersol, “and still remember that it’s the national so I want to do my best.”
Last year’s competition in Lawrence, Kansas attracted athletes from around the country who had progressed through USATF’s Junior Olympic Cross Country Program. The series of competitions is made up of Association Championships in USATF’s 57 local Associations, 15 Regional Championships, and ultimately the National Championships where the “best of the best” take the stage. Competition takes place in five two-year age divisions, from ages 10 & under to age 18.
As Piersol knows, this event is also a great opportunity for her many cross-country friends in this area to shine at the national level. “It’s such a neat thing to think that it’s going to be in our hometown,” she said. “It’s really neat to know that Richmond gets to host it.”
Because Richmond is the host Virginia runners have it easier than most. Those who have not previously competed in the USATF Junior Olympic program can qualify by joining the USATF and competing in the USATF Virginia Association meet (November 15). Since Virginia is the host region, a good performance at the Association meet will automatically qualify them for the JOXC. Competitions are available for teams, which would be organized by clubs, or individual runners.
“This is a great opportunity for Virginia cross country runners,” say Jim Holdren, coach at the Richmond Track and Cross Country Club and the president of the Virginia Assocation. “A good performance at the association meet puts them straight into the junior national championships, so they don’t have to go to the Region III meet.”
That means that the Region III meet (November 22nd at Pole Green Park) will be the qualifying race for runners from Maryland, the District of Columbia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina for the JOXC.
The USATF Junior Olympic program is a series of meets consisting of preliminary, association, regional, and national meets. Athletes are required to submit an entry form only at the first level of competition, as advancement is based upon performance (i.e., an athlete cannot directly submit an entry form for the regional competition; they must have first competed and advanced at the association meet). Many of America's Olympians began as youth athletes, including stars such as Jeremy Wariner, Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards, Bryan Clay, Lauryn Williams, Adam Nelson, Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi.
The course at Pole Green Park, which has been used for several regional and district meets, is made up of grass and gravel trail. Along portions of the grass and the gravel trail there are natural boundaries with the woods. It has rolling terrain with one challenging hill. But what makes the JOXC truly special is the fact that so many kids come from so far to compete.
“You get to know kids from all around the country and see how their communities shape their running,” says Piersol, who has competed in the JOXC in Rhode Island, Washington State, and Kansas. “And they have opening and closing ceremonies. The best thing is meeting so many people like you from all over the country.”
For registration information go to www.sportsbackers.org.
Note: MileStat.com is helping organize an All-Star club team of Richmond area athletes for the high school age groups to compete for the Richmond Track & Field Club and race for USATF Junior Olympic national team titles at Pole Green Park on December 13th. If interested in competing on this team, contact Brandon Miles at milestat@gmail.com