The High School Scene

Our world of Central Virginia is widely considered to be one of the best regions in the state for high school running! Every fall, winter and spring many of our area Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor track teams are in the top echelon among Virginia squads. Credit for this tradition of annually having some of the best teams in the state can be traced to excellent recruiting and coaching. Year in and year out programs like Fork Union, Western Albemarle, Monticello, Charlottesville, Louisa, Albemarle, Woodberry Forest, Covenant, Wilson Memorial, Jefferson Forest and Rockbridge County enjoy consistent success because of their wonderful coaches.

Every Fall, from early September until the conclusion of the x-country season in mid-November, The Daily Progress kindly publishes The All-Central Virginia Cross Country POLL. This weekly poll (printed in Thursday’s paper) lists the Top 10 area boys and top 10 area girls and the top 5 boy’s and girl’s teams (all based on the weekly votes of the coaches from our 18 area schools). At the conclusion of the season, the paper prints a photograph of the athletes who make the final poll and these athletes are invited to a special awards presentation at Ragged Mountain in December.

Some annual area highlights…

1. The Ragged Mountain Cup- This 4 × 2 mile relay kicks off the Central Virginia cross country season (usually held on the first Tuesday after Labor Day). All 18 of the Daily Progress high schools are invited to this free event, which is hosted by RMRS and Panorama Farms (the Murray family kindly opens their beautiful course for this special event) and close to 500 athletes participate in this fun community challenge event. We also nominate and announce the recipient of “The Kelly Cup” at the conclusion of this invitational each year. This prestigious honor is bestowed upon a cross country athlete, from one of the area high schools, who practices the ideals and hard working behavior of former Albemarle star (and Ragged Mountain Cup champion) Kelly Watt, whose life was tragically cut short after his senior year. Call us at 434-293-3367 for more information on this special meet. Volunteers are always needed and appreciated!
2. The Dogwood Track Classic- The state’s largest high school outdoor track meet is held at UVa’ Lannigan Field every April. Over 100 schools from all over the state, including most of our area teams, participate in this well organized, competitive meet. Albemarle, Western, Charlottesville and Monticello High School serve as the hosts and Ragged Mountain serves as Race Headquarters for this popular meet, which annually attracts over 2,000 athletes. Go to www.dogwoodtrackclassic.com or call Mark at 434-293-3367 for more information.
3. The Albemarle Invitational-This popular and very competitive cross country meet serves as a mid-season test for over 35 Virginia schools. The meet is held annually in mid-October at beautiful Panorama Farms (located just a few short minutes from Charlottesville in Earlysville). Call Mark at 434-293-3367 for more information.
4. The FUMA Invitational and The Woodberry Invitational – These annual meets, held on the spacious grounds of Fork Union and Woodberry Forest are the area’s first big cross country meets of the season (both meets are held in September).
5. The Gus Lacy Invitational- This popular and well organized event serves as the big kickoff track meet of the outdoor season every April. Hosted by the fine folks at Fork Union.
6. Central Virginia Running Camp- This popular running camp is hosted by the University of Virginia distance coaching staff and is held in late July on the beautiful grounds at Jefferson’s University and out at Panorama Farms. The camp, which is open to rising 9th-12th graders, fills up quickly, so we strongly encourage you to apply by May. Go to www.runcvrc.com for more information.
7. The District and Regional Indoor Track Championships- These exciting and very competitive indoor meets are a blast for track fans, as the venue at Fork Union doesn’t have a bad seat in the house. At any given moment you can simultaneously watch the long jump, high jump, shot put, pole vault and a running event, all going off at the same time! Newly resurfaced in 2007, this fine facility is one of the best in the state. The meets are usually held on Wednesday or Thursday evenings in late February.
8. The District and Regional Cross Country Championships- Held at beautiful Panorama Farms in late October, these competitive meets showcase the best in harrier talent from high schools all over the state. A, AA and AAA host one or more of these events every fall.