And it's another welcome again to all competitors, coaches, parents, other relatives and friends, along with the usual long time, faithful supporters of high school cross country, to the 18th Annual Glory Days Grill Invitational at Bull Run Regional Park on Saturday, October 9th.
Meet management will once again be looking forward to another fine afternoon of competitive racing, with well more than 2,000 runners representing 65 schools expected to compete in one of the nine different races to be contested on Bull Run's approximate 5,000 meter (3.1 miles) layout.
The course has undergone a few changes through the years but has now remained very much the same for the past five years as the originator of the meet, Mike Dobson, has tried to keep it as close to the original concept he had in laying out the course each and every year since 1992, while still maintaining a continual reputation as one of the most spectator friendly courses around.
This invitational meet, held annually on the second Saturday in October, is usually a very good barometer for the upcoming championship season, which will begin in just over two weeks for most teams, and will once again try to fulfill all the runners and coaches needs; with a variety of races scheduled to accomodate various skill levels of participation.
At each level, the boys race will precede the girls race. Due to dual event scheduling at the park this year, the meet has it's latest start in memory, with the freshmen boys race beginning at 2:50 p.m. followed by the freshmen girls race at 3:15 p.m. and the meet will continue clicking at a rate of 25 minutes between the starts of subsequent races.
The freshmen races will have an unlimited number of entries for each school as these ninth graders get an important opportunity to race solely against their other first year high school counterparts.
The junior varsity races begin at 3:40 p.m. and greatly benefit the large number of hardworking youngsters who are very involved in their respective school's distance running programs, and like the freshmen races, are also set up to have an unlimited number of entries for each school.
Due to the large number of J.V. runners on the boys side, there will be two junior varsity races determined by a random split of teams, with the Division I junior varsity boys with the 3:40 p.m. start and the Division II boys squaring off at 4:05 p.m. while the Junior Varsity girls will begin at 4:30 p..m. in what is usually the largest race in terms of overall finishers.
The Varsity B boys race then follows at 4:55 p.m. with the Varsity B girls scheduled for 5:20 p.m. in races that pit many of the top runners from schools with smaller enrollments against the second tier of the larger enrollment schools entered.
Highlighting the day for many will be the Varsity Seeded races with the boys set for 5:45 p.m. and the girls slated for a 6:10 p.m. start as many of the top individuals and teams from the area face off against each other.
Very closely following the conclusion of the final race, there will be a team awards ceremony at the stage area which will begin at 6:35 p.m. We cordially request all award winning teams to be prompt in their attendance at the ceremony so that we can finish ahead of the impending darkness.
Teams are further reminded that the individual awards for the top fifteen finishers in each race will be given out at the end of the finish line chute immediately following the nine respective races.
Glory Days Grill is now in its twelfth year of sponsoring the meet and restaurant co-founders Jeff Newman, Rich Danker and Bob Garner are once again greatly pleased to be involved in the myriad of action and cooperation which is necessary to pull off an event like this and which needs and gets a great number of people to be pro-active in order to guarantee a succesful day.
Jeff, Rich and Bob, along with the rest of the Glory Days Grill staff, would like to thank in advance all of the volunteers involved in concessions, parking, results compilation and all other necessary forms of meet management and would especially like to thank Mike Dobson, Mike Kiernan, Scott Raczko, Matt Gilchrist, Dan Woolley, George Siragusa, Gale Faulkner, Mark Stripe and Charlie Lihn for all of the extra time and help they donate to the meet each and every year.
FURTHER REMINDERS
We will once again be using the chip timing system. Coaches will need to turn in their chips promptly after the meet to the "chip timing return tent" which will be located behind the fenced area beyond the press box.
Concessions will be sold througout the meet behind the press box area and there will also be a tent set up near the concession area for tee shirt sales.
Please do not impede the progress of any of the runners during the race by be being too close to the course's race line.
This is important at all times and especially near the finish line area where some spectators invariably display various degrees of perceived overexuberance.
Team and individual results will be posted during the meet at the press box area as soon as we have them. It should be a fairly quick turnaround from the finish of one race to the posting of results since we will be using the chip timing system for the third year in a row.
Immediately following the conclusion of the meet, results will be sent and then posted very quickly on www.milestat.com as Brandon Miles once again keeps everyone well informed on the actions and happenings across the state and beyond, of the cross country season.
Thanks in advance and good luck to all the participants.
Boys & Girls Seeded Varsity Preview:
The boys team title looks to be pretty much up for grabs with a half dozen schools or so in the mix. Potomac Falls finished second at the Oatlands Invitational two weeks ago against a fairly high quality field and were fourth at the Octoberfest Invite in The Plains last weekend.
Good Counsel, led by Jack Riely, and Monroe Parker Invite runnerup South Lakes, with Will Sickenberger and Nick Guarnaccia as their top two runners, were both within 35 points of Potomac Falls at Oatlands and will also be bidding for the top spot.
Other teams to watch include Jefferson, with their lead runner being Jonathan Phillips, along with the teams from Forest Park and Loudoun County, which is led by Tommy Curtin.
Curtin of Loudoun County, winner of the seeded section at the Great American Festival in North Carolina last week, should also be one of the top individuals to watch along with Chris Miller of Northwest, who finished second at Oatlands; Chantilly's Sean McGorty, who was the Monroe Parker winner and others to watch include Handley's Tom Delaney, Nick Reed from Robinson and W.T. Woodson's Paul Gates.
The girls team race appears to be a very good matchup between O'Connell and Thomas Jefferson. O'Connell was the winner of the Great Meadow Invite on the last weekend of August and finished second at Oatlands. O'Connell is very strong at the top with the trio of Sarah McCarthy, Emily Blagg and Devin Nihill.
Jefferson has scored victories at Monroe Parker, Oatlands and also Octoberfest with Stephanie Marzen and Sarah Stites playing important roles in all three victories.
Other teams trying to knock on O'Connell and Jefferson's door include Potomac Falls, Northwest and George Mason. Some of the other potential individual medalists include Myah Hicks of Edison, Monacan's Kaila Blackburn, Ava Farrell of Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Forest Park's Natalie Young.
