TN State Elementary and Middle School Championships moves to Memphis in 2023
On Saturday, October 28th, TN State Elementary and Middle School cross country championships will be held in Memphis on the Championship course at Shelby Farms. After 17 or so years in the Knoxville area, this one-year relocation will certainly be welcomed in Memphis by the huge contingent of Elementary and Middle School athletes in the area! The Shelby Farms cross country courses provide a great location for the meet, but more on the course later in the article. This date is also one week before the National Middle School cross country Nationals at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville Kentucky.
Middle and Elementary school cross country has seen a huge growth spurt over the last few years. Participation levels in the sport have more than doubled from ten years ago. Chris Kane, meet director of the Tennessee State Elementary and Middle School cross country championships, wants to be sure that trend stays on this continuing path of growth.
Houston Middle Swept the Boys JV and Varsity Divisions last year at Victor Ashe Park with a perfect score in the boys JV division.
A while ago, Chris and Memphis Youth Athletics (MYA) Executive Director Nick Dwyer began discussions about the possibility of operating the TN State elementary and middle school cross country championships in the West side of the State. There never was any discussion on any permanent move, but the idea was to get this championship level cross country meet exposed to more athletes across every part of the State. And the intent of that exposure is to further the already burgeoning participation levels within the younger cross-country athletes. An added benefit is to be able to pass on the knowledge of handling this level of event to other organizations in all areas of the State.
This task does come with a dilemma that isn't easily carried out. Not only is there the requisite to have a champion level course to compete on, but also one that won't be saturated by the numbers the State meet brings about. There's also the daunting task of setting up, running a massive event like this, and the sheer number of volunteers it takes. Then there's the fact that for the last seventeen or so years, and solely by the direction of the Knoxville Youth Athletics (KYA), this State meet has been held on the East side of the State. A drive that some, but not all, Memphis area athletes (or rather parents) were able to manage. The question does comes up if that will translate to the other direction with this move.
Chris will continue as the Meet Director, overseeing and ensuring that the meet runs as smoothly as has been the case for so many years. Partnering with MYA will also safeguard that goal. There is a unique connection between KYA and MYA. Several years ago, MYA was started by Nick Dwyer with the help and guidance of KYA's founder, Marty Sonnenfeldt with the goal to encourage Memphis area kids to live healthy lifestyles through Track & Field and Cross Country sports. From that initial beginning, the MYA organization has grown exponentially and has become the heart of Track & Field and Cross Country in the Memphis area. It is because of this that it became logical that it was the right time for the TN State Elementary and Middle school cross country championships to have a go in Memphis.
Let's take a quick look at the course the athletes will be competing on this season. To begin with, the course is situated in Shelby Farms Park. If you're not familiar with the Park, it is one of the largest urban parks in the country with 4,500 acres of green space, over 40 miles of paved and unpaved trails, 20 bodies of water, horseback riding, water sports, kayaking, award-winning Woodland playground, restaurants and shops. It's even home to a heard of Buffalo!
Now to the course. The Elementary is a 1 mile and Middle doubles that loop for the 2-mile distance. The start line is wide, about 200 feet wide and about a quarter of a mile long before it narrows into a very slight right turn. Just under a half mile the course makes a sharp left downhill turn and goes through a winding up and down area for about the next three tenths of a mile. That area ends with the runners going into a wooded area, along a creek and over some sidehill and short but steep inclines. But then they make a quick right turn that looks down onto the long straightaway to the finish line. The middle school does this loop twice.
1 Mile Loop (Elementary School Course)
2 Mile Loop (Middle School Course)
The finish of this course makes for some exciting races as athletes will get a good glimpse of the finish line and even more importantly, who they may have to chase down in that last straightaway of the course! The start and finish provide easy spectator viewing and depending on how creative you want to be, you'll be able to move around and get right up next to a lot of the action throughout the race.
Cross Country is steeped in tradition. Memphis is no stranger to long running and exciting cross country meets. Two of the biggest and most popular races in the Memphis area are the early season Memphis Twilight and the Frank Horton Classic. With the help of Chris Kane and the Knoxville Youth Athletics organization and the Memphis Youth Athletics, this year's TN State Elementary and Middle School cross country championships should certainly turn out to be one of those must watched events!
Coach Ted