South Middle School Cross Country

August 25-29: Week Two and first two meets!!!

August 24, Monday: Boys & Girls Practice, and XC PAYMENT DUE TODAY for all athletes (Cash or check payable to South Middle School. Payment should be in an envelope with the student's full name and grade on the front and can be given to the front office or to Mr. Stordahl in room #147)

August 25, Tuesday: Practice -- 3:00-4:00pm

August 26, Wednesday: (First Meet) Prospect Invite @ Prospect High School 4:30--6:00pm

*No transportation will be provided for the meet. Athletes should arrive at Prospect by 3:45pm

August 27, Thursday: Practice -- 3:00-4:00pm

August 28, Friday: Practice -- 3:00-4:00pm

August 29, Saturday: Saint Viator Invite @St. Viator High School -- 4:00pm

*No transportation will be provided for the meet. Athletes should arrive at Saint Viator by 4:00pm

September 1-5: Week Three

August 31, Monday: Practice -- 3:00-4:00pm

September 1, Tuesday: Meet vs Cooper @ Cooper 3:30pm-5:30pm

September 2, Wednesday: Practice -- 3:00-4:00pm

September 3, Thursday: Meet vs Thomas @Hasbrook Park 3:30pm-5:00pm

September 4, Friday: Practice -- 3:00-4:00pm

September 5, Saturday: Plainfield Pack Labor Day Classic @Ronald D. Lehman Park/Channahon Community Park -- 8:00am

*We expect to have buses available to and from this meet

Sign-Up Form: In order to be signed up and fully registered for Cross Country, athletes MUST fill out the form with a parent/guardian. The last day to register is Tuesday, August 25th. If your athlete has not filled out THIS form by that date, they will not be able to compete or practice with the team.

Physicals: Students need an active physical on file with the Nurse's Office BEFORE they are allowed to participate in Cross Country. To be current and active, the Physical must be from 9/2025 or after (physicals are considered current & active for 13 months and must be current for the entire season). Parents can turn in physical forms to the Front Office/Health Office, have students turn them in to the coaches, or email them in. If a student does not have an active physical on file, they will NOT be allowed to participate until they have an active physical on file in the Nurses' Office.

Payment: Payment includes the program fee of $35 plus the cost of any additional spirit wear you may have ordered. The program fee covers the cost of the team shirt, which your child gets to keep, and invitational fees for the season. All payments (cash or check made out to South Middle School, and in an envelope with the student's full name and grade on the front) are due Monday, August 25th and must be turned in to the front office OR

6th Graders can give payment to Coach Stordahl (Room #147)

7th Graders can give payment to Coach Evans (Room #247)

8th Graders can give payment to Coach Gerardi (Room #344)

Last week focused on building our runners’ endurance while also giving us our first look at where everyone is fitness-wise. We started the week with a long run on Monday, followed by a recovery run on Tuesday. Our 7th and 8th graders completed a tempo run with strides on Wednesday, while Thursday was kept easy so everyone could be ready for Friday’s 1-Mile Time Trial.

The Time Trial gave our runners a chance to test their fitness, practice racing, and establish a starting point we can build from throughout the season. Saturday was an easy run to recover from the week, followed by an off day on Sunday.

As we continue increasing our training, the little things become even more important. Runners should stretch every day, drink plenty of water, bring a snack for after practice, and get plenty of sleep. We will continue giving athletes mileage ranges rather than telling everyone exactly how far to run. Every runner is at a different point in their training, so we want them to listen to their bodies and make smart decisions based on how much they have been running and what their weekly mileage has looked like.

This is a busy and exciting week for our runners as we get our first two invitationals of the season! We will start the week with a long run on Monday and a light tempo workout on Tuesday before heading to the Prospect Invitational on Wednesday. Thursday & Friday will be focused on recovery. We will finish the week with the St. Viator Invitational on Saturday, giving our runners another opportunity to race and continue building confidence early in the season. Sunday will be an easy or off day depending on how each runner is feeling.

With two meets this week, recovery is especially important. Please encourage your runner to stretch every day, drink plenty of water, eat a snack after practice, and get plenty of sleep. As always, athletes are given mileage ranges rather than an exact distance. We want them to listen to their bodies and choose mileage that makes sense based on how much they have been running this summer and their current weekly mileage.

Here is the weekly mileage and workout plan (subject to change).

Meets: Most of our meets are on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or a Thursday, are against one or two other teams (dual or tri-meets), and will typically start around 3:30 pm and go until roughly 5:00-5:30 pm. The start time for meets is partially determined by when the traveling school/team can arrive. If the traveling school/team arrives early, the meet MAY start early. This will be determined by the host school/team.

Invitationals: We've been lucky enough to be invited to a few this year, and we are excited to have these opportunities again for our athletes. Due to Invitationals being larger meets with anywhere from 5-30+ teams in attendance, SOME of the invites have caps on how many athletes are allowed to compete per team/gender. (The meets where team sizes are limited are marked on our meet schedule). Unfortunately, due to number caps for teams and the very large size of our team, not everyone will be able to compete at every invitational this year. We do try to give the opportunity to as many athletes as we can. Information on who will be competing in the invitationals will be provided during the week of the invitational.

Lastly, because invitationals are such a limited opportunity, we ask that you let us know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if you are unable to attend so we can offer another athlete the opportunity to compete. Last-minute and same-day back-outs/no-shows are not fair to athletes who don't get to compete in invites, as coaches are most of the time not allowed to sub in a different athlete to fill the empty spot.

D25 students are allowed to compete on more than one school team at a time. We have been working together with the Girls Basketball Coaches specifically, to try and make our both our schedules work as smoothly as possible for anyone who winds up competing on both teams. All that we ask is that if you plan on competing on both teams (including try-outs) please let a coach (of each sport) know and communicate which days you will missing for each sport. If you have any questions, please let us know. We are more than willing to help work out a schedule that will allow our athletes to be multi-sport athletes.

Practices are extremely important. It is not possible to get better, stronger, and faster if you are not at practice for our workouts. All of our workouts are designed to help prepare our athletes for the physical and mental stresses of competition, and to allow them to preform to the best of their ability. If you don't practice, you won't get better.

Meets are opportunities to improve our PR, and competing against tough competition can really push us to limits we never thought we could reach. The more meets and practices/workouts you miss, the harder it is to improve as an athlete and to preform at your best.

Layers of clothing, running watch, water bottle(s), and GOOD RUNNING SHOES (from a store like Dick Pond Athletics or Fleet Feet). Fall in Northern Illinois is all over the place (sometimes extremely hot, sometimes extremely cold), so ALWAYS BRING LAYERS and DRESS FOR THE WEATHER. We cannot stress enough how important it is to bring all types of clothes in case we are practicing in hotter/colder/inclement/wet weather. It is extremely important to watch the weather throughout the week, and dress for the weather.

In the beginning of the season, when it is hotter out, make sure you are drinking enough water. You need to drink more water when it's hot and sunny, so be sure to have plenty of water throughout the day at school, not just at practice.

Make sure to wear a nice pair of gym or running shoes. Running shoes from a running store are best. Shoes must be replaced every 300-400 miles for distance runners, so new shoes must be purchased every season for injury prevention. Please make sure you label all items with the athlete’s name.

Cross Country Spikes are OPTIONAL, but we do recommend them as they help prevent slips and falls on cross country courses. XC Spikes can also be purchased at a running shoe store or online.

Athletes are expected to know the order of events, know which events they are competing in, and show up on time for their events (this can change from meet to meet, and will be posted on Schoology as well as communicated to athletes at practices leading up to meets).

All student athletes are expected to wear their Cross Country Uniform (Uniform Top and Black Shorts/Spandex) at all meets.

We follow all district and IESA safety guidelines in regards to inclement weather (SEE HERE).

All practice and meet cancelations will be posted on schoology by 2:00pm at the LATEST. Until there is a post announcing that we are canceling practice or a meet, assume we are still having practice or meet. We do not cancel for light rain or snow, but may for moderate to heavy rain, extreme heat/cold, unhealthy air quality, and we will certainly will delay and/or cancel due to lightning*.

While we do try to get in meets when possible, as they are difficult to reschedule and most meets/invites do not have rain dates, safety is our top priority. We monitor the radar and forecast continuously throughout the day, as the weather can change radically and rapidly, to make a determination on what the safest course of action is, based on the most up-to-date information and forecast.

*For lightning that appears during meets & practices we abide by the 30 minute delay rule. We shelter and delay for 30 minutes after every strike within 10 miles. We can only start again 30 minutes after the last strike. For every strike, the 30 minute timer restarts.

When a bus we take busses to meets, all athletes are expected to ride the bus to and from that meet or have a form signed saying who will be bring them to and from meets. There will be a few meets where athletes will need to arrange their own transportation to and from said meets. We will be communicating to athletes and parents during the week if a meet will have bus transportation or not.

Athletes represent our school and our community in all things we say and do. Good sportsmanship is expected on and off the Track. Explicit/disrespectful language and behavior is UNACCEPTABLE. It is not who we are as Cardinals, and can get individuals and/or the team disqualified from races and meets if overheard by an official.

Cardinals are expected to follow the Cardinal Way (Being Mindful, Safe and Ready) inside and OUTSIDE of the classroom. This means on the on the track at meets, talking to officials at meets, at practice, in the locker rooms, on the bus, and out in the community.

When we visit other schools for meets, it is expected that we leave our team camp area cleaner than when we got there.

When leaving campus for distance runs, it is expected that athletes are responsible, safe, and respectful, and mindful of our neighbors and their yards/property.

Athletes must use caution when communicating with others through social media—what they do and say online is also a reflection of themselves and the program.

Cardinals, lead by example and if you see something, say something; to a fellow teammate, a parent, or coach. Don't let your teammates bring you and the team down.

Website: https://www.sd25.org/domain/574
Location: South Middle School, South Highland Avenue, Arlington Heights, IL, USA
Phone: (847) 398-4250
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AHSD25
Twitter: @AHSD25South