Teams from all across New England will make their annual pilgrimage to Wickham Park to either give their 
athletes a preview of the CIAC state championship course or for some top class out of state competition. Cross country athletes have been running some form of the 5000m course for the past 35 years and this year's addition features 116 boys and 105 varsity team along with junior varsity, freshman and middle school races. Many of the top teams and individuals in the state will be on hand to finally get a chance to show off their hard work in a mid season show down.
Below is all the information fans, athletes and coaches will need to make their day more enjoyable. Feel free to refer to this site on the day of the meet. Milesplit will provide coverage of the meet with pictures, results and race videos soon after the meet. Meet Previews will be coming shortly.
New for 2018 Wickham Park XC Invitational Meet:
There are participant limits for each Boys and Girls race division: Varsity (1 team of 7 athletes), Junior Varsity (30 athletes), Freshman (15 athletes) and Middle School (25 athletes).
The meet finish line has been upgraded this year to include chip timing for all competitors to help for more efficient race results.
Facility:
The meet will be held at the Wickham Park 5000m, 4000m and 3000m courses in Manchester CT.
Timing:
All runners will be issued a Shoe Chip and a
corresponding Bib number.
In addition to the bib numbers that have been used in the past, each team will be issued timing chips which will be secured to the athletes' left or right foot.
At the end of the race, coaches must retrieve the chips from their athletes, place them in the pouch, and return them to the registration tent. There will be a charge of $20 for each missing chip or pouch.
Because of the switch to chip timing, there are no finish chutes at the finish line except for the single chute for the individual award winners described in the Awards section. Athletes must NOT STOP on the finish line and should continue to move to promptly exit the finish line area
LIVE RESULTS: @NE Sports Timing
Northeast Sports Timing Service Website: http://nestiming.com/
Individual Awards:
Championship Race - 35 trophies and 25 medals
Unseeded and Seeded Varsity - 35 trophies & 25 medals
Freshman and JV Races - 50 medals
Middle School Races - 50 smaller medals
Team Awards:
Trophies to top 4 teams in Varsity Races.
Trophies to top 2 teams in middle school and freshman races.
Additional Information:
There is a parking fee of $10.00, but the park is recommending car pooling due to the wet conditions in the parking areas.
T-shirts and refreshments will also be available. Wickham Park also has a small cabin at the very top of the hill by the two- mile mark that has a grill.
Wickham Park: Cross Country Records provided by The Running Academy Cross Country Camp
Order of Events:
Time Race Distance
9:00 am Middle
School Boys 3000M
9:25 am Middle School Girls 3000M
9:50 am Freshman Girls 4000M
10:20 am Freshman Boys 4000M
10:50 am Girls JV 1 5000M
11:25 am Boys JV 1 5000M
11:55 am Girls JV 2 5000M
12:30 pm Boys JV 2 5000M
1:00 pm Boys JV 3 5000M
1:25 pm LUNCH BREAK
2:00 pm Girls Unseeded Varsity (won less than 50%) 5000M
2:35 pm Boys Unseeded Varsity (won less than 50%) 5000M
3:10 pm Girls Seeded Varsity (won between 50% & 80%) 5000M
3:40 pm Boys Seeded Varsity (won between 50% & 80%) 5000M
4:10 pm Girls Championship Varsity (won over 80%) 5000M
4:40 pm Boys Championship Varsity (won over 80%) 5000M
Junior Varsity runners (teams) have been assigned to JV Race 1, JV Race 2, JV Race 3 based on the total number of entrants to ensure equal number of participants in each race.
Top Teams Entered:
Many of the top teams in Connecticut have entered the race. Below are a list of the teams entered and their rankings according to the 2018 soundRUNNER Connecticut High School Coaches XC Poll
Rank Boys' School Rank Girls' School
1 Xavier 1 Hall
2 Hall 2 Glastonbury
3 Staples 3 Immaculate
5 Tolland 4 Danbury
6 Conard 5 Greenwich
7 Suffield 6 Trumbull 9 Shelton 9 New Milford (Unseeded Race)
5000m Course Map (Boys and Girls Varsity and JV Races)
4000m Course Map (Boys and Girls Freshman Races)
3000m Course Map (Boys and Girls Middle School Races)
Wickham Park Virtual Run through with Danbury High's 2014 XC Team
