MileSplit High School Track & Field and Cross Country

Hi folks
I have a son who likes to run. He is from Denmark, but would like to go to the US one year for High School and is currently looking for an exchange program. However it

Huron high school Ann Arbor Michigan. I really like my coach and the program we might not be the best team, but we do work hard.

Any high school would be a great experience for him, I think.
If you want him to have positive roll models and be around a school that is good at running, then just try and find all the schools that won state titles, in their respective states. If you choose a school that came in the top 3 of their state meet, they are obviously going to have high quality coaches and runners. I wouldn't try to be too selective because those times he has will place in the middle to front of the pack here in the US.

I recommend James DeMarco at Blacksburg High School, in Blacksburg Va. It'a multicultural community due to the presence of Virginia Tech, in a beautiful and temperate part of the country. The high scool running program has had numerous state champion teams and individuals (as well as national rankings) since James started coaching in 2004.

Here is his contact: www.runaboutsports.com/

If you can search the archives, there is an article on James on Dyestat from the fall.

I agree with some of the other users. The experience is what you make of it, so many schools will work. I'd suggest if he were interested in coming to the Southwest, either Albuquerque Academy (Coach Adam Kedge) or Los Alamos High School. AA has won about ten state titles in cross country and track in the past decade and graduated a guy (Ben Johnson) now running for Stanford. They are usually ranked in the Top 15 by both MileSplit and the Harrier magazine.
Los Alamos is also regionally and nationally competitive and both teams have outstanding schools.
My School (Silver High School)is the alma mater of 4-time Olympian George Young and has won three state titles, back in the 60's, but now we don't have a very competitive team at the state level. Still, we wouldn't mind a guy who can run in the sixteen minute range!

This may be a bit late, but you would have a hard time finding a nicer community than
Bay Village, Ohio. Annually ranked one of the best places to live in Ohio and a School system
always in the top 5 percentile.On the shore of Lake Erie at Huntington Beach with a wonderful Metro Park, they have a very good Cross Country program every year. Returning Ohio State Champion who has run 15:21 and another returning 16:24 runner. 20 to25 participants on their team.
Good luck in your search.

I would go to McPherson High School in McPherson, Kansas. Has a great coach in Chad Brake who competed in college at the division II level. Also their cross country team placed 2nd at the 5a state championships this year. The highest place in school history. Also the team had three runners place in the top 20. They also had the schools first Individual Cross Country Champion in its history. Coach Brake is a great motivator and keeps running fun yet focused for all of his runners. The team has qualified for state three years in a row now and will continue this next year. Also on the track coached a runner to three individual state championships in the 800, 1600, and the 3200 in 2009. McPherson is a great community and has great dirt roads for training.

aporter

I would go to McPherson High School in McPherson, Kansas. Has a great coach in Chad Brake who competed in college at the division II level. Also their cross country team placed 2nd at the 5a state championships this year. The highest place in school history. Also the team had three runners place in the top 20. They also had the schools first Individual Cross Country Champion in its history. Coach Brake is a great motivator and keeps running fun yet focused for all of his runners. The team has qualified for state three years in a row now and will continue this next year. Also on the track coached a runner to three individual state championships in the 800, 1600, and the 3200 in 2009. McPherson is a great community and has great dirt roads for training.

lol brah

Marshfield High school, in Coos Bay, Oregon

York High School in Elmhurst Illinois

York of Illinois

If you are looking to stay on the east coast for a shorter flight then I'll give a few schools in no particular order. These are just the first that come to mind. And I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania so I know a bit more about the PA schools.

1. Fayetteville-Manlius - Coach Bill Aris has brought teams to Nike Nationals every year since 2004. And his girls teams currently have a streak of 4 consecutive National Titles. He has built the most decorated XC program in the country since 2000. It's easier just to make a list of what he's done. Everything I'm gonna list is just since 2003.

Sectional Championships
Boys: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009
Girls: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

State Championships
Boys: 2004, 2005, 2009
Girls: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

NY State Federation Championships
Boys: 2004, 2005
Girls: 2006, 2007
***Following the 2007 season, Manlius began skipping the Federation Championships to prepare for the National Qualifier.

National Championships
Boys: 2nd in 2004, 3rd in 2005, 16th in 2008, 9th in 2009
Girls: 1st in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009

***Fayetteville-Manlius is in section 3 of New York State. This is without question the best area of the country for cross country.

2. Scranton Prep - A small private school in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They've just dominated competition in the small schools since 2000.
District Titles
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

State Titles
2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005

3. West Chester-Henderson - A large public school in Pennsylvania. A great history of winning. And an excellent coach.
District Titles
2002, 2003, 2009

State Titles
2002, 2003, 2009

4. Shenendahowa
Section Titles
2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

State Titles
2003, 2006, 2008

NY State Federation Titles
2003, 2006, 2007, 2008


Those are a the best in my opinion. Bust I'll list a few more that come to mind.

Don Bosco Prep, NJ
North Penn, PA
Liverpool, NY
Baldwinsville, NY
Saratoga Springs, NY
Holy Redeemer, PA
North Allegheny, PA
North East, PA
Dallas, PA
Carslile, PA
Tully, NY
Germantown Friends, PA
Christian Brothers Acadamy, NJ
Abington Heights, PA
Danbury, CT
West-Genessee, NY
Cicero-North Syracuse, NY

All the above schools are great. No question. If you are interested in coming to the eastcoast, take a look at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, VA. Bill Volkman is the boys and girls middle distance/distance coach. We have a foreign exchange student from Germany already who is a sprinter. Just google Great Bridge High School. Another good school in the Tidewater area is Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach. Coach Mike Nestor is outstanding.

These are probably the best 3 high schools that your kid can run for. All 3 are continuously finishing well year in and out at Nike Cross Nationals.

For instance, The Woodlands TX were 7th-12th-4th-4th-3rd at NXN (where the BEST teams in the nation compete) and did not qualify just ONE YEAR. Besides that, every single year they always have one guy at the very least running low 9s (last year they had 2 under 9:10). What's amazing is when they run their intra-squad 3200 race they always have around 10-15 kids breaking 10:00 for the 3200.

The Woodlands TX
Albuquerque NM
York IL

Tupelo high school is not one of the most recognizable superpowers in the nation but certainly in the state of Mississippi. Tupelo has developed a steady strong cross country program and by Coach Hall and Coach Brown's good work, wisdom, and training it will certainly continue. They are two of the best coaches around the region.

9 straight state cross country titles for the girls and guys. They compete in several large meets in the regular season last year the big three they competed in were - Jesse Owens Classic. Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational. And the Brooks Twilight meet. The track program is also pretty strong as well. Max Holman (15:19 5000 meters) was Tupelo's top male runner from last season.

Check out Western Branch High School they are U.S. number 1 team two years stright for indoor and produce some of the best runners in the nation

By far the Woodlands in the Houston, Texas area. They stay loaded in 1600/3200m every season.

Try Henderson High School in West Chester,Pa. near Philadelphia. They have a wonderful coach who connects with young athlets. The program has been successful in both track and cross country.

Congrats on your son's achievements! Two Texas high schools stood out at the Nike Cross National Championships. Boerne, Texas, is a 4-A (smaller) school located near Austin. They have a very young but very good program and won first place in Texas for 4-A school and also placed first at Nike National championships. I do not know how they do acedemically. The Woodlands, Texas, is a 5-A (larger) school located near Houston. They have a very well-established and consistently very good boys cross-country program. They won first place in Texas for 5-A schools and also placed well at the Nike National championship (I don't remember what place but it was very good). They have won national championships several times in the past. They also have a great academic program and are very active in student foreign-exchange programs. Hope this helps and good luck to your son!

Thank you guys for all the nice comments and inputs. I do think you are right that the important thing is the experience and an active running team. The way you compeed in the US between High Schools and district/state/national competitions should ensure plenty of challenges and an competitive environment. We are now trying to get him to a High School in Pennsylvania where the coach is working very hard organizing the stay. It seems its hard to find an organization that support such exchanges given the limited time (he should come to US 2. half 2010 - 1. half 2011) so there are many practical issues.
At the moment he is no. 1 in the National Running Leauge in Denmark in the U20 group (youth 19 and below - he is 16). So he is improving and hopefully a stay in the US will both be fun and make him a better runner.

Not sure where you picked, but depending on the school and league, your son will be very competitive, but he will not be the top runner in PA or maybe even in his league. So it would be good for him to go on the PA version of this site and look over past results from the league and district of the school where he will be going, and he can prepare himself for the type of competition that he will enjoy here.

Look up Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Consistently one of the best distance programs out there, and nearly unmatched academically.