2024 Great American XC Festival

PRESENTED BY GARMIN

The Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, and the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF) are excited to host the 2024 Great American XC Festival Presented by Garmin with the support of Nike. In its 25th year, the granddaddy of all interstate national competitions will once again be run on the super fast WakeMed Soccer Park course in Cary, NC, site of the NXR, and NCISAA Cross Country Championships.

We will be bringing that championship and festive feel all NSAF events are known for by featuring high school drumlines, honoring the top fifth runner with the Anchor Award and allowing teams to run up to 10 athletes in the varsity races. We’ll also have great Nike and Garmin merchandise in our retail area offering the latest in advanced technology to take your training and competition to the next level.

The middle school races will once again kick off the weekend on Friday with the  HBCU Cedric Walker Challenge to close out the day one events.

Saturday, we’ll kick- off the event with the JV races with our Varsity races including the boys and girls Race of Champions Presented by Nike to follow. 

Meet Date and Location:

Friday October 4th and Saturday October 5th, 2024 Wake Med Soccer Park, 101 Soccer Park Drive, Cary, NC

Meet Headquarters

Hampton Inn & Suites Raleigh/Cary I-40 PNC Arena
111 Hampton Woods Lane, Raleigh NE

We have contracted a limited amount of rooms at our event rate:

 $144/ plus tax(Single King Rooms)
$149/ plus tax(Double Queen Rooms)

For reservations please use booking link HERE

What High Schools can compete? 

This meet will be sanctioned with a NFHS sanction.  All HS teams that are NFHS member high schools are welcome to attend.  Teams will register using their school affiliation and must compete representing their respective high school. Races are open to all high school teams regardless of location.

How do I register:  Register HERE.  Registration open on May 1st. Please feel free to add the meet to your athletic.net team calendar at any time. 

Entry Fees:

$45.00 per individual athlete
$180.00 per team of up to 10 athletes
$400.00 bulk fee per school

Entry Deadline:

Registration closes on Sept. 29th at 6pm ET. Late entries will not be accepted.

Race Schedule:

Friday, Oct 4th

12:00pm- 4:00pm Course open walkthroughs and warm-up
4:15pm        MS Girls(3k) -unlimited entries
4:40pm        MS Boys(3K) -unlimited entries
5:00pm        HBCU Women(5K) -unlimited entries
5:30pm        HBCU Men(8k) -unlimited entries

Saturday, Oct 5th

8:00am         JV-Girls (unlimited entries)
8:30am        JV-Boys (unlimited entries)
9:00am         Open Blue Race-Girls (limit 10)
9:30am     Open Blue Race-Boys (limit 10)
10:00am       Race of Champions-Girls (limit 10)
10:30 am      Race of Champions-Boys (limit 10)
11:00 am      Open Red Race- Girls (unlimited entries)
11:30pm      Open Red Race-Boys (unlimited entries)
12:00pm Open Green Race-Girls (unlimited entries/if needed)
12:30pm Open Green Race-Boys (unlimited entries/if needed)

                                 ** If the Red race does not reach capacity, we combine the Green/Red race and adjust the time schedule accordingly.

*All HS races are 5k
*MS races are 3k
*HBCU races are 5k(women) and 8k(men)

Race Selection

*The boys and girls Race of Champions(ROC) will be limited to the top 28-32 teams that register for this race and will be determined by our selection committee. 30-40 top individuals will also be selected for the ROC.  

Teams registered, but are not selected for these championship races, will be moved to the Open “Blue” race.

*Coaches can enter up to 10 athletes in the ROC, Open Blue, and Open Red.

*The JV section will be unlimited entries but we will score each team’s top 5 finishers with 2 pushers.  We will not have multiple team designations within this section.   

Awards Ceremonies

Awards ceremonies will take place approximately 15 minutes following the conclusion of each race at the awards area.

JV Races

Trophy to team champion in the boys and girl’s race
Medals will be awarded to the top 10 finishers
Top finisher t-shirts to top 20 individuals

Blue Open Races

Trophy to team champion in the boy’s and girl’s race
Medals will be awarded to the top10 finishers
Top finisher tees to top 20 individuals

Red Open Race

Trophy to team champion in the boys and girl’s race
Medals will be awarded to the top10 finishers
Top finisher tees to top 20 individuals
**If a Green Open race is needed due to entry numbers, results will be combined for awards. 

Race of Champions

Trophy to top team champions and runner-up in each ROC section
Medals will be awarded to the top 10 finishers
Top finisher tees to top 20 individuals in each section

Packet Pick-up:

**ALL PACKETS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED ON SITE AT WAKE MED SOCCER PARK.

Friday, October 4th from 12:00pm-4:00pm Packet pick up will be located at the Management Tent adjacent to the starting line 

Saturday, October 5th from 7:00am-12:30pm-Packet pick up will be located at the white tent immediately after entering the park.

Course Run-Thrus

*Course opens at Noon for run-thrus

Retail Sales:

Nike apparel will be for sale on course run thru day and meet day.

Friday, October 44h Noon-6:30pm
Saturday, October 5th 7:30am-12:30pm

Timing Chip: 

Shoe tags will be included in the packet. 

Box Assignments: 

Box number assignments will be posted online at NationalScholastic.org.

Results:

Results will be available on RunnerSpace.com, AthleticNet and NationalScholastic.org

Spectator Admission:

Admission is free, parking is $10.00, CASH ONLY, per vehicle entering the park.

Parking will be free of charge on Friday.

Beverage:

Bottles of Gatorade and water will be available to athletes on site.

Medical

Certified trainers will be on site at all times when the course is open.

Lost and Found:

Any lost and found items can be picked up at the announcing tent adjacent to the starting line.

Questions

Contact Kristi Rieger -NSAF Director of Events
[email protected]