Cross Country

I. ELIGIBILITY

A.  A CONTESTANT, in order to qualify must be on the active Cross Country roster of the school team by October 15, 2026, and must have participated in a minimum of one cross country meet with the school team this season.

B.  A TEAM, in order to qualify, must have officially participated in at least one regular season

cross country race this season.

C.  Rosters of participating student-athletes need to be submitted to the DCSAA office

(desmond.stewart@dc.gov) no later than Monday, November 2, 2026.

 

II.  STATE MEET ORGANIZATION

A.  Entry Deadline: Monday, November 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. NO EXCEPTIONS!

1.  Directions for entry:

     Log on to athletics.net, the site hosting the online process Create a log in.

     Choose the Varsity, Varsity B, JV or Middle School race.

B.  The 2026 DCSAA Cross Country Championships will be held at Kenilworth Park on Saturday, November 7. Varsity B, middle school and JV races precede the State Championship races.

C.  The Games Committee, comprised of members of the State Cross Country Committee present at the meet, will rule on any questions and/or protests that arise. Meet officials will handle the finish chute and ensure that athletes start and finish properly and ensure the meet is run according to NFHS rules.

D.  Athletes should come dressed for participation. No locker room access on site.

E.  A maximum of seven athletes per school will be permitted to participate in the varsity races. Note: There is no maximum number of student-athletes per school for JV races.

F. A team may run fewer than five athletes, but a team must finish at least five to be

considered for the team title.

G.  On arrival to the course, the coach or school representative should report to the registration table for the teams packet containing numbers and course maps.

NOTE: A coach or school representative MUST be present. Packets will NOT be given to athletes if an adult is not present.H.  Tentative Schedule:

9:30 am: Walk of course

11:00 am: Middle School Girls Race

11:35 am: Middle School Boys Race (middle school awards to follow)

12:10 pm: JV Girls Race (for 9th and 10th graders)

12:45 pm: JV Boys Race (for 9th and 10th graders)

1:20 pm: Varsity B Girls Race (for 11th and 12th graders)

1:55 pm: Varsity B Boys Race (for 11th and 12th graders)

2:30 pm: Girls State Championship

3:05 pm: Boys State Championship (high school awards to follow)

 

III.  STATE MEET RULES

A.  It is the coachs responsibility to instruct the competitors concerning the courses official

markings.

B.  Athletes are permitted to walk the course before the race.

C.  Only participants and credentialed attendants are allowed in starting area.

D.  Any coach observed running with their student-athletes will disqualify their team from the race.

E.  Runners have a maximum of 30 minutes to complete the race before the course is cleared for the next race.

F. Following the start of the race, coaches MAY NOT move closer to the finish line. The finish line is a restricted area for race participants and officials only.

G.  The start of the race begins when competitors uniforms are checked and they are called to the starting line for final instructions. The race is considered to be official and concluded when places have been determined and the results have been recorded.

H.  A competitor finishes the race when their torso breaks the plane of the finish line.

I.  Disqualification

1.  Undesirable behavior on the part of the school participants or nonparticipants shall be grounds for disqualification, at the determination of the State Cross Country Committee. Failure to comply with appropriate behavior will result in disciplinary action.

2.  Course cutting will result in automatic disqualification from the race.

J. Juniors and seniors are not permitted to run in the JV race.

K.  Fifth graders are not permitted to run in the middle school race.

 

IV. STATE MEET SCORING

A.  Scoring shall be as shown on the following table:

Place       First    Second      Third    Fourth     Sixth        etc. Points             1                      2                    3            4               6        etc.

B.  All competitors who finish the race shall be ranked and tallied in accordance with the above table. Seven team members retain the order of finish. The team score then shall be determined by totaling the point scores by the first five finishers of each team. The team which scores the fewest points is the team champion.

C.  If fewer than five competitors of a team finish, the places of all members of the team shall

be disregarded in the team scores.

D.  Ties in team scoring shall be resolved by comparing the sixth-place finishers from the tying teams. The team with the best sixth-place finisher shall prevail.

E.  If only five competitors of tying teams finish, the tie shall be resolved by totaling the scores of the first four finishers, with the lower score prevailing.

F. Top 15 varsity runners receive awards and top two teams will awards.