2023 Maryland XC Invitational (MDXC): Info

Saturday, October 7, 2023

Please arrive at DeMatha no later than 5:45am. The bus will depart from DeMatha promptly at 6:00am. It is, approximately, a 65-minute drive to Shawan Downs in Cockeysville, Md.

Note the following meet details:

Location
Shawan Downs
1401 Shawan Road
Cockeysville, MD 21030

Meet Schedule
7:00a - Bib pickup opens
8:30a - Coaches meeting
9:00a - Red & White Varsity Boys
9:30a - Red & White Varsity Girls
10:00a - JV Boys (Unlimited entries)
10:30a - JV Girls
11:10a - Red & White Varsity + JV Awards
11:30a - Black & Gold Varsity Boys (Allowed 7 entries)
12:00p - Black & Gold Varsity Girls
12:40p - Black & Gold Varsity Awards

Registered athletes

Our varsity team is currently entered in the Black  & Gold division, which is intended to be the more competitive of the two varsity divisions. The meet director reserves the right to move us to the Red & White division as they try to balance the two races. I don't believe there's any chance of us being moved but we will find out for sure at the end of the week which varsity race we will be in. Our varsity team at MDXC will consist of Graham Fenn, Daden Grogan, Chase Lopez, Jalen Neptune, Sayid Shakur, Brandon Smoot, and Roman Zentek

Everyone else, except those who have told me they cannot be there next weekend, is entered in the Junior Varsity race, including those who have not yet broken 30 minutes. The mid-meet awards ceremony gives us enough time that I can see those athletes finish before I need to begin preparing for the varsity race. Please let me know ASAP if you will be unable to attend the meet. They have a lot of teams attending and would prefer not to prepare bibs/chips for athletes who will not be competing.

Award Ceremonies
Varsity races - Awards to the top 3 teams and the top 15 finishers in each division

JV race - Awards to the top team and the top 15 finishers

Estimated return to DeMatha
2:30pm (give or take depending on traffic)

Athletes:

• • Shawan Downs is a private property and the land trust that owns the property requires every athlete entered in the meet to submit a release form in order to compete in the race. Coaches may not submit this form for the athletes, it MUST be completed by a parent or guardian for each athlete. To complete this form, use this link to their Google Form. They will notify me ahead of meet day about any athletes I have registered who will not be allowed to compete due to failure to submit this form.

  • Wear your racing uniforms

    • SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPRESSION GEAR WORN UNDER THE UNIFORM: Compression shorts, if worn, MUST be the same BLUE as our school color (ROYAL BLUE) and stop above the knee. Compression shirts may be short or long sleeve (though I recommend no compression shirts unless the weather is exceptionally cold) but MUST be WHITE . If a logo is visible on either piece of apparel, it must be Under Armour.

  • Wear your team gear (if you did not order any or yours has not arrived, you MUST wear Under Armour clothing to warm up in; do not show up in just your uniform).

  • Wear your training shoes. No flip-flops or crocs until after you've cooled down.

  • Pack your racing spikes, if you have them. These should not be your primary shoes for the course walk and warmup/cool down; these are only to be worn during the race.

  • Everyone must pitch in during set-up and/or take-down in regards to the tent, tarp, etc.

Additional Important Details

• • The distance for this course is 5 kilometers.

  • Parents/guardians can sign up to bring water, gatorade, and/or snacks for the athletes to have before and after their races by using this Signup Genius link for this week.

  • Parents and relatives are encouraged to attend; there is a $5 parking fee and the website indicates that only cash will be accepted. Additional details for parents and spectators attending the meet are available here.

    • Please note that I expect athletes to stay with the team until the conclusion of the meet to support their teammates. In the event that you absolutely must leave the meet early, you must check in with me first because I need to remain aware of each athlete's location until either I dismiss them to leave with their guardian or until we arrive back at DeMatha. Please do not leave the meet location with your son unless I have dismissed him.

    • IMPORTANT: If you intend to bring your son home from the meet (whether he rode to the meet with you or not), you MUST sign the Return Trip with Parents form and return it to coach before you leave the meet.

    • IMPORTANT: If your son will drive to/from the meet, or if your son will leave the meet with another athlete or parent, you MUST sign the Transportation Verification Carpool form and return it to coach before we depart for the meet.

  • Anybody who takes photos during the meet is encouraged to share them to this shared Google drive folder for the Maryland XC Invitational

  • Athletes will be told to call/text their ride when we leave Shawan Downs. I will also send an alert via Remind with an estimated time of arrival at DeMatha.

• As of Saturday, September 30, the forecast for October 7 is mostly cloudy with a high of 70. It will likely be very chilly in the AM so athletes should dress warmly, but athletes should feel very comfortable once their race is underway.

If you have any questions, contact Coach Puffett directly.