2026 Maryland XC Invitational: Info

Saturday, October 10, 2026

Please arrive at DeMatha no later than 5:45am. The bus will leave from DeMatha promptly at 6:00am. It is, approximately, a 65-minute drive to Shawan Downs in Cockeysville, Md., so athletes driving there should arrive at 7:00am.

Note the following details:

Location
Shawan Downs
1401 Shawan Road
Cockeysville, MD 21030

7:00a - Bib pickup opens | Remote Parking opens, spectator shuttles begin
8:30a - Morning coaches meeting
9:00a - Black & Gold Varsity Boys* (Max 10 entries)
9:30a - Black & Gold Varsity Girls
10:00a - AM JV Boys* (Unlimited entries)
10:30a - AM JV Girls
11:10a - Black & Gold Varsity + AM JV Awards
12:30p - Afternoon coaches meeting
1:00p - Red & White Varsity Boys
1:30p - Red & White Varsity Girls
2:00p - PM JV Boys
2:30p - PM JV Girls
3:10p - Red & White Varsity + PM JV Awards
4:30p - Final shuttle to remote parking departs

*"Black & Gold" is MDXC's version of 'seeded varsity.' Some large meets, or courses that cannot accomodate the number of registered teams accepted, will hold two varsity races, one seeded and one unseeded. Unlike Oatlands, MDXC's policy is that programs may only enter a varsity team in one or the other, and seeded is the more competitive. MDXC's meet director reserves the right to switch teams between the two for competitive balance; JV teams run in the corresponding morning or afternoon session. I always enter us in the Black & Gold, or seeded, race and thus far we have never been moved 'down' to Red & White. The change, if one comes from the meet director, would be announced in the days leading up to the event.

Entries

The following athletes are entered in the varsity race:

Evan Bouchard, Satchel Drabinski, Kendall Giles, Elijah Hawkins, Dominic Hilton, Lucas Moisiuk, Kenneth Osuji Jr, Arvin Mirchandani, Alexander Soto, Renaud Williams

All other athletes on the roster are entered in the JV race -- our 30-minute standard is not in effect for this meet.

Awards

Individual - Top 25 finishers in each varsity race, and Top 20 finishers in each JV race, will receive medals at the awards ceremonies

Team - Top 3 teams in each varsity race, and Top team in each JV race, will receive trophies at the awards ceremonies

Estimated return to DeMatha

1:00pm (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. Release forms from previous seasons do not carry over. 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. Please be sure to do this well in advance of race day. With the number of athletes they expect, I highly doubt they will check for last-minute submissions on race-day morning, and I would hate to break the news to an athlete and his parents that he cannot run after making the trip out there because his release form was not completed.

• 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 but MUST be WHITE (though I recommend no compression shirts unless the weather is exceptionally cold). If a logo is visible on either piece of apparel, it must be Under Armour.

*If you wear visible compressions that do not meet these requirements, you will need to remove them or you will not be permitted to race.

• Wear your team gear (if you did not order any, or if yours has not arrived yet, 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.

• Recommended: Bring your yoga mat (or towel) for cooldown stretches.

Parents:

• I have been asked by the meet director to direct all parents to review information on the parents/spectators page of their meet website. Please review all information carefully.

  • Of note: Please pay particular attention to details regarding parking. There is no on-site VIP parking this year.

    • The only on-site parking available is ADA parking, which is free and does not require pre-registration but does require valid handicap plates or placard to be displayed. The cost for off-site parking is $12.60 (including a processing fee) and there will be 12 shuttle busses running throughout the meet. Note that travel times may be around 30 minutes with traffic plus bus load/unload times. Purchase your parking ahead of time but please note that purchases are non-refundable.

      • It appears both links to purchase parking are directing to past years at the moment (as of September 25). Coach Puffett will try to keep an eye out for when parking is available for purchase.

  • In case your son misses it in the athlete section: 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. Please be sure to do this well in advance of race day. With the number of athletes they expect, they may not check for last-minute submissions on race-day morning, and I would hate to break the news to an athlete and his parents that he cannot run after making the trip out there because his release form was not completed.
    
    

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 parking fee. Please see information in the "parents" section of this meet info sheet for more.

  • Please note that I expect athletes to stay with the team until the conclusion of our morning or afternoon session 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 from the meet. I try to have plenty of copies on hand at the meet if you forget to print it.

  • 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 taking photos of our athletes during the meet can upload them to our shared album here.

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

Forecast

• This will be updated when we are a week out from race day.

  • We will track the forecast through the week of the race to provide updated guidance as needed for athletes to prepare for race conditions.

If you have any questions, contact Coach Puffett directly.