Leon County Schools' 2015 middle school cross country schedule

Summer is always a season of waiting and training for cross country, and the summer of 2015 won't be any different. In Tallahassee, Florida, the middle school athletes of the Leon County Schools already know exactly what they're training for, because the school district has announced the schedule for the upcoming season. The young athletes that you see out running in June, July, and August are going to be the ones you see at the front of the league championship race on 7 October 2015. Here are the races:

Leon County Schools 2015 Middle School Cross-Country Schedule
Date	Time	Meet	Venue
September 2 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	Swift Creek Invitational	Apalachee Regional Park
September 9 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	Fort Braden Run	Fort Braden Park
September 17 Thursday	10:45 AM Girls 11:15 AM Boys	Everhart Invitational	Gretchen Everhart School
September 30 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	Mustang Invitational	Montford Middle School
October 7 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	LCS Championship	Apalachee Regional Park

All the races are two miles. Notice that there are five meetings this season, up from the four meets in each of the seasons from 2010 to 2014. For the first time since 2012, Swift Creek Middle School will host the season opener. Back then the Wolves had held the races at Tom Brown Park, but this year they've scheduled the first meet at the Apalachee Regional Park Championship Cross Country Course on 2 September 2015. The end-of-the-season championship race on 7 October 2015 will also be at ARPXC--so not only will athletes have two opportunities to race on the best cross country course in Florida, they'll also have a chance to compare their times at the start of the season to those at the end of the season. Between those two meets at Apalachee Regional Park, the middle schools will compete at the sixth annual Fort Braden Run on 9 September 2015, the 28th annual Everhart Invitational on 17 September 2015, and the third annual Mustang Invitational on 30 September 2015.


The Leon County Schools meets aren't the only game in town, though. Holy Comforter Episcopal School hosts two middle school meets this season--the Crusader Cross-Country Classic on 15 September 2015 and the Tallahassee Middle School Open on 15 October 2015--both on the HCES home course, Lawson's Course. You'll also see Tallahassee athletes competing in middle school races at the Cougar Challenge and at the Quail Trail Invitational. The 2014 FLYRA state middle school cross country champion, Tallahassee's Clay Milford, ran for Maclay School, outside of the Leon County School system.


You might suspect that these middle school races are important because they're the first exposure to distance running for many of the young participants. History supports your suspicions. Since 2007, Tallahassee high school athletes have won state cross country titles ten times. Each of those athletes ran in middle school.


So it's entirely possible that you'll see some future stars in the middle school races during the 2015 season. I can't guarantee that, but I promise that you'll see young athletes learning to love cross country. That's a spectacle worth watching.


Links

• The 2014 LCS middle school cross-country season on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • Fort Braden Run: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/fort-braden-2014.html
    
  • Mustang Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/mustang-2014.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/owl-run-2014.html
    
  • Championship: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/10/lcs-champs-2014.html
    
  
  
• The 2013 LCS middle school cross-country season on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • Fort Braden Run: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/fort-braden-2013.html
    
  • Mustang Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/mustang-2013.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/owl-run-2013.html
    
  • Championship: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/10/lcs-champs-2013.html
    
  
  
• The 2012 LCS middle school cross-country season on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • Battle at Tom Brown: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/battle-2012.html
    
  • Fort Braden Run: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/fort-braden-2012.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/owl-run-2012.html
    
  • Championship: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/lcs-champs-2012.html
    
  
  
• The 2011 LCS middle school cross-country season on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • Fort Braden Run: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/09/fort-braden-2011.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/09/owl-run-2011.html
    
  • Championship (boys): http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/09/lcs-ms-boys-2011.html
    
  • Championship (girls): http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/09/lcs-ms-girls-2011.html
    
  
  
• The 2010 LCS middle school cross-country season on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • Battle at Tom Brown: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/09/battle-2010.html
    
  • Fort Braden Run: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/09/ft-braden-xc-2010.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/09/owl-run-2010.html
    
  • Championship: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/10/lcs-champs-2010.html
    
  
  
• 2009 LCS middle school cross country coverage on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • Everhart Invitational: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/10/zimmerman-and-williams-winners-at-owl.html
    
  
  
• The HCES Crusader Cross-Country Classic on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • 2014: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/10/crusaders-2014.html
    
  • 2013: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/crusaders-2013.html
    
  • 2012: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/10/crusaders-2-2012.html
    
  • 2012: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/crusaders-2012.html
    
  • 2009: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/10/poole-bartlett-victorious-at-holy.html
    
  
  
• The 2014 HCES Tallahassee Middle School Open on Trouble Afoot!
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/10/tlh-ms-xc-open-2014.html
  
  
• More races in the region, cross country and otherwise
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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