Cross country is a competitive, Fall sport in which teams of individuals race over different types of terrain including grass and dirt. Courses usually include hills, trails, and grassy fields. Most competitions are held on and around school properties or local parks. The official season begins in mid-August and ends by mid-October. Pre-season practices will also be offered 2 days a week during the summer.
Regular season practices are held Monday through Friday at Manor Middle School. Penn Manor provides transportation from the High School and Marticville Middle School to Manor by way of an activity bus. Transportation is also provided to all Away meets and students from both middle schools will be bussed to the High School. These procedures will be reviewed closer to the season.
Competitions are held against other Lancaster-Lebanon League schools for a total of five meets, which take place on Tuesdays, after school. Additionally, there are also two larger invitationals. In the event that a practice or meet would be cancelled, notifications will be posted on the blog and announcements made in each middle school.
The race distance for the Jr. High level is 2 miles. The goal for each athlete is to be able to maintain consistent running the entire race. It takes quality training and commitment to the program to make this possible. A combination of longer runs (for endurance) and interval workouts (for speed) will provide team members the necessary skills needed to develop and improve. Team members will also do core exercises and learn proper stretching techniques. While these are all essential pieces of the program, there will also be plenty of time for games and team building activities!