Leon County Schools' 2016 middle school cross country schedule

When you're running cross country for your school's team, summer is the time that you do your most valuable training for the fall racing season. Knowing what you're training for could be the motivation you need to get you through those hundreds of miles of preparation. If you're going to be running cross country for a middle school in the Leon County School System in 2016, then you're fortunate enough to know what races you need to be ready for, because the schedule is out. Here it is:

Leon County Schools 2016 Middle School Cross-Country Schedule
Date	Time	Meet	Venue
September 7 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	Swift Creek Invitational	Apalachee Regional Park
September 14 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	Fort Braden Run	Fort Braden Park
September 22 Thursday	10:45 AM Girls 11:15 AM Boys	Everhart Invitational	Gretchen Everhart School
September 28 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	Mustang Invitational	Montford Middle School
October 5 Wednesday	6:00 PM Girls 6:30 PM Boys	LCS Championship	Apalachee Regional Park

In addition to summer being a training time, it's also a good time to recruit some friends for the team. Cobb, Deerlake, Fairview, Fort Braden, Montford, Nims, Raa, Swift Creek, and Woodville each had athletes at the LCS Middle School Championship Meet last year, but only five of those nine schools had a full team of girls, and only six had a full boys team. A team needs five runners to score. You know that many people, right?

2015 Mustang Invitational

There are five meets scheduled this year, but things happen. There were also five meets planned in 2014, but one got canceled. Five meets were on the schedule in 2015, but the boys' race in the season opener was rained out. Let's hope for no bumps in the road in 2016. The new schedule looks a lot like the 2015 calendar--the Swift Creek Invitational opens the campaign at Apalachee Regional Park on 14 September 2016, the Fort Braden Run is at Fort Braden Park on 14 September 2016, the Everhart Invitational mixes things up with a Thursday morning meet at Gretchen Everhart School on 22 September 2016, the Mustang Invitational takes the runners to Montford Middle School on 28 September 2016, and everyone return to Apalachee Regional Park on 5 October 2016 for the LCS Championship Meet. Each race is two miles long. No metrics in this league!


There are other middle school cross country opportunities in the Tallahassee area aside from the Leon County Schools' meets. Holy Comforter Episcopal School will host a pair of middle school meets, the Crusader Cross Country Classic on 9 September 2016 and the Tallahassee Middle School Open on 13 October 2016. Some of the larger high school meets in the area include middle school races. The Cougar Cross Country Challenge on Saturday, 27 August 2016, is one. The Bainbridge Bearcat Invitational on Saturday, 17 September 2016, is another, and so is the Aucilla Christian Warrior Stampede on Satuday, 1 October 2016. The FSU Invitational has added middle school races on Friday, 7 October 2016. In Thomasville the middle school athletes have Saturday races at the Yellow Jacket Invitational on 15 October 2016 and the South Georgia/North Florida Middle School Meet on 22 October 2016.

2015 Leon County Schools' Middle School Championship

How important is middle school cross country? Well, in 2015 the Chiles High girls won the class 3A high school state cross country championship. Of the athletes on that team, Alex Wallace, Ana Wallace, and Lawton Campbell had run cross country at Deerlake Middle School. Emily Culley and Erin Phelps had been harriers at Montford Middle School. Olivia Miller hadn't run middle school cross country, but she did race on the track for Montford. Two of those runners were Leon County champions in middle school cross country; Ana Wallace won the title in 2013 and Lawton Campbell in 2014. Emma Tucker never ran any Leon County Schools middle school races because she ran cross country for Lake City Middle School in Columbia County. Tucker led Chiles at the 2015 State Meet with a third place finish. Maybe the girls would have won even without middle school experience, but I have to think that earlier exposure to running helped. It certainly didn't hurt. It didn't hurt the Tallahassee athletes who have won ten individual titles in high school cross country since 2007. Each of those champions ran in middle school.


Aside from their value as a testing ground for the athletes of the future, middle school cross country meets are a place where middle school students have fun running and experience the world's greatest sport.


Links

• The 2015 LCS middle school cross-country season on Trouble Afoot!
  
  • Swift Creek Invitational http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/09/swift-creek-2015.html
    
  • Fort Braden Run http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/09/fort-braden-2015.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/09/owl-run-2015.html
    
  • Mustang Stampede http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/10/mustang-2015.html
    
  • LCS Championship http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/10/lcs-champs-2015.html
    
  
  
• 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!
  
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/09/crusaders-2015.html
    
  • 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!
  
  • 2015: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/10/tlh-ms-xc-open-2015.html
    
  • 2014: 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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