Embedded Files
This our uniform shirt for the 2026 season. We also have a spirit wear store below. The uniform shirt is $15.00. We had to pre-order, so sizes will be first come, first serve. Please put money or a check payable to Templeton Middle School with your first AND last name AND grade/house.
New this year for communication
SportsYou app 52E2-77TC
TMS Cross Country Route Map
scan_gebhco_2026-08-18-12-26-16.pdfWelcome to the 2026 Season
Welcome to the 2026 Season
Click on each to view approximate times. The links will be available once the information is shared with us.
*September 10 - Cowbell Invite Port Washington Simplicity Grounds (Briggs and Stratton)
*September 15 - Crusader Classic at Kennedy Middle School - Germantown map
*September 16 - Pilgrim Park Invite - Pilgrim Park Middle School
*September 24 - Tosa Invite at Greenfield Park
*September 28 - Wisconsin Hills Invite at Mitchell Park- Brookfield
*October 1 - Invite at Rotary Park Menomonee Falls
*October 5 - TMS Invitational at Templeton Middle School (Home Meet)
*October 8 - Conference Champion Meet at Rotary Park in Menomonee Falls
October 21 - WI Lutheran sponsored MS CC Championship Meet at Greenfield Park (Coach Invite)
*Warrior 5K and 8K (not required, but would be a great opportunity for families.
Coaches
Before you may practice, you must complete These requirements
Before you may practice, you must complete These requirements
Cross Country is a sport open to all students. Cross County running takes place in natural, open-air environments. The 6-week season begins in early September and concludes in mid-October. The team meets Monday through Friday of each week with meets and practices throughout the season. Visit the TMS Cross Country website for more information! Practice is fro 2:45-4:15. Parents MUST pick up at 4:15 by the gym.
To sign up and participate, please go to the Permission/Concussion Form.
BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS
BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS
On this team, this means…
Respect Everyone
Be on time
Keep quiet and orderly during attendance (ABC order)
Plan to work as a team
Focus on doing your best
Stay on task
Ask for help when you need it
Encourage others
Respect Exercise
Follow the directions of the coaches
Listen when others are speaking
Use appropriate, positive language
Keep hands and feet to yourself
Respect others’ space
Dress appropriately
Use appropriate voice level for activity (0-5)
Remember.. you signed up to run
Bring water to drink
Respect Environment
Respect others’ belongings and materials
Clean up after yourself
Stay in designated areas as instructed by coaches during meets and practice
Infraction Procedure:
Should an athlete fail to follow any of the above respect expectations, a Bulldog Reminder will be given for a first minor offence, parent contact will be made for a second offence or major offence, and suspension from practice or a meet ranging from one to three days (depending on the infraction) will be enforced by the coaches should inappropriate actions occur. Administration may be informed and further consequences could be in place based on the TMS Athletic Code of Conduct.
Transportation / Leaving a Meet
Travel Consent Form (linked)
We will take attendance with the labels in the small gym (usual attendance space) right after school. At that time, you can give Coach ________ your travel consent form.
If you ride the bus, you MUST take it back UNLESS you turn in a travel consent form, or your parent signs Coach _________'s clipboard.
The bus cannot leave if you forget to sign the clipboard or turn in a form. We cannot leave until we make contact by calling. This can be a significant delay for the others riding the bus.
Parents will pick up their child at TMS when the bus returns. We will have students contact parents when we are 15 minutes away from TMS.
There is NO EATING/DRINKING on the bus. Students will receive school consequences if they do.
IF THERE ARE NO BUSSES - PLEASE READ:
Please arrive to the meet 30 minutes before the start of your child's race.
2. Drop off child as close to start line as possible. See course maps in links above.
3. Coaches wear bright pink caps/visors. Find Coach __________first to get sticker. Then report to Coach ____________ for warm ups.
4. Report to Coach __________ after the race and give her the card with the sticker on it.
5. Athletes are free to leave with parents after their race is complete, but we highly encourage teammates to stay and cheer on the other Bulldog runners.
Attire
Attire
Runners will wear running shoes, shorts or running pants, and the TMS Cross Country Uniform shirts for meets. These have been pre-ordered and will be available to purchase on the first day of practice. For practices, you may wear any type of activity clothing and running shoes as long is it is SCHOOL APPROPRIATE. Please be sure to watch the weather and be prepared.
Resources
How to finish a Cross Country Race in a Chute:
You should all out sprint the last 200-300 meters of every race (about 1/2 lap around the track). Pass as many runners as possible.
The race is NOT over until you cross the finish line.
As soon as you cross the finish line...DO NOT pass any other runners. Stay in a single file line and WALK all the way through the "chute."
You will be handed a card/paper with a number on it. That number is your overall rank in the race. You will immediately take your sticker off your shirt and place it on that card.
Find Coach Strauss at the end of the chute (Pink visor) and hand her your card with your sticker. If there are a lot of TMS finishers all at once, try to stay in line of how you finished. This can be a hectic time, please be patient.
It is normal to feel nauseous after running a race. If you have to vomit...run off to the side and vomit before going to Coach Strauss.
This video is from 2019 when TMS boys finished at the Pewaukee Invite. It does not show them getting a card, but they do once they cross the finish line. Here is another example of how a finish can be in a chute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGfzvVrOQQY Only middle school races get cards and stickers. High School runners do not. Their races are digitally timed.
Scoring for a Cross Country Race:
Scoring a Cross Country Race is like golf - the lower the score the better. The goal is to finish as close to the front as possible.
The top 4-5 finishers (the number on the card given to you in the chute is basically your score) for each team in the meet are added together. The team with the lowest score overall wins the meet.
The strategy behind a team win is to have team members stick together in packs and finish as close together as possible. The leader of that pack is usually the fastest runner and pushes the others to go fast behind him/her. So when you are in a meet, stick together with teammates the best you can. Pass as many runners as you can from other teams and together pass other teams. Running as a Pack Video
Drafting - is when you run directly behind another runner allowing the front runner to break the wind for you and you use less overall energy to run. It is basic physics. Teammates who have similar paces will take turns drafting in order to help everyone preserve energy, then at the end the one who has the most energy and speed takes off as fast as possible and hopefully the teammates are close behind.
Tips for Running a CC Race - this video is for a 5K race (3.1 miles), however, the same strategy can be used for a 3K race (1.86 miles), just adjust when to change pace.
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