Race Results and Upcoming USATF meet

Our middle schoolers turned in some nice performances at the Western Massachusetts Invitational on Thursday. Henry Sacco was our top boy runner, coming in 35th, and Ada Grant finished 3rd in the girls' race. The results are posted on the website, longmeadowtrack.org.

USATF Meet

Our last meet of the season is the USA Track and Field (USATF) Junior Olympic meet on November 11 in Nashua, NH (our calendar says Amherst, NH, but it has been moved to Nashua; the November 4 developmental race in Amherst has also been taken off). This meet is optional, and for the elementary school runners, it is the day before the Massachusetts Elementary School Invitational in Lynn, MA.

The USATF meet brings together runners from MA, RI, NH, and VT. Junior Olympic athletes compete in age groups. The age groups (7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14) are determined by the child's age as of December 31, 2018.

Here is the link for information about the USATF meet:

http://newengland.usatf.org/Events/2018/2018-USATF-New-England-Junior-Olympic-Cross-Countr.aspx and the information sheet is also attached.

In past years, kids from the track and XC programs have run in the USATF meet, and some have qualified for the regional USATF meet, which includes the six New England states and New York. I will be frank in saying that the competition is keen at this meet, but it is a great opportunity to run a personal best against talented competition and to be part of a professional meet with running clubs from four of the six New England states.

Participating in this meet requires advance sign-up and becoming a member of USATF, if your child is not already a USATF member. November 7 is the deadline for signing up for the meet and you have to become a USATF member first. There are 3 steps:

1. Make your child a member of USATF, if her or she is not already a member. It is $20 for the year, and it also allows your child to participate in 2019 USATF track and XC meets if you become a member on November 1 or after. Here is the link for USATF membership:

https://www.usatf.org/membership/application/index.asp

2. Once your child is a USATF member (you will get instant email confirmation once you register online), verify your child's age by sending a copy of your child's birth certificate to: office@usatfne.org or fax to 617-939-0992. USATF says age verification must be done by November 6.

3. Register your child for the Nashua meet on Athletic.net. Your child will be deemed "unattached" because LPRD is not signed up as an official USATF club. Here is the link to Athletic.net:

https://www.athletic.net/