What Is Cross Country?

Cross country is a unique team sport where individual performances are put together to create a team performance or score. A cross country team race ranges in distances from 2 miles to 3.1 miles (5K). The first 5 finishing runners for a team will generate a team score based off of their finishing place. The team with the lowest score will win the meet. For example:

Scripps Ranch runners finish (first five across the finish line) 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

Other team runners finish (first five across the finish line) 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

From these finish places, the first 5 finishing places for each team will be added together to produce a team score:

Scripps Ranch: 1+3+5+7+9 = 25

Other team: 2+4+6+8+10 = 30

Because Scripps Ranch has the lower score, we would win the meet. 

A meet is a collection of Boys and Girls, Varsity and Junior Varsity (JV) races. Most meets will have 4-6 races depending on how many teams are entered in the meet. There can be as few as 2 teams in a meet all the way up to 20+ teams. For meets with two teams (dual meets), each race will be spaced approximately 20-30 minutes apart. For other meets and invitationals, each race will be spaced approximately 15-60 minutes apart. Unlike track, cross country races can take place on a wide variety of terrains including, but not limited to, golf courses, wooded trails, open spaces and gravel pathways. Most cross country courses are not flat and may contain hills and sharp turns.

Scripps Ranch is in the Western League and we compete against the following teams :

Cathedral Catholic

Mira Mesa

Patrick Henry

Point Loma

Scripps Ranch

University City 

Just like any other sport, cross country has what can be considered a post season however, it is not like a traditional tournament style set up like you see in basketball or other sports. In a normal cross country season (not 2020-2021), our post season begins with the Western League Championships which determines the League champions but does not influence Section or State participation. After that meet, we are racing to qualify as a team for the State meet. In order to qualify for the State meet, we compete at the San Diego Section meet against all other Division II teams. Divisions are based on school size and determined by CIF.  The team must finish in the top 3 at the Section meet to move on to the State finals held in Fresno, CA. A runner can also qualify individually for the CIF State Meet by finishing as one of the top 14 individuals at the Section meet. There is a JV race at the Wester League finals however; there is no JV Section or State meet. A JV athlete’s season will end after the Western League finals meet. 

We often say that cross country is the only sport where spectators get exercise, too. If you plan to watch your student athlete at various points along the course we advise wearing comfortable shoes.

CIF San Diego Section Finals:

For more information, see: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pQR4Y8awWgy5AAlQO3QWy4hnWqHqFdYsT3uAltrXbxI/edit

All San Diego teams will qualify for the CIF Section Finals. Each team may send seven runners; the top five runners will count for scoring purposes.

State Cross Country Championship Qualifications

(see https://www.cifstate.org/sports/cross_country/champ_info/2022_XC_Handbook.pdf for more information):

The top three teams in the CIF San Diego Division II will qualify for states, and they will send their top seven runners.  Additionally, the top five runners who finish in the first 14 places at the CIF San Diego II finals will qualify individually if their team does not qualify.