Best prep/day schools for xc/track

We are willing to consider schools across the country and are not overly interested in boarding schools who would not allow day students. Unfortunately due to COVID we could move and do our jobs remotely going forward. Child loves running and has had great success thus far and is very strong academically. Also plays musical instruments so would love good music program too. Will be a rising 8th grader. Thank you in advance for any insights.

You can take a look at George School. Would check all the boxes. They have had quite a few kids who have excelled in both t&f/xc and music. I think it’s about 40% day.

Excellent academics. IB school.

St Mark’s has a very strong XC program! They compete in the highest level of NEPSAC, even though they are a small school and technically should compete in a much lower level. Their JV team has been undefeated for at least 4 consecutive seasons (over 50 consecutive wins). Varsity is also top notch (13-2 last season) and many of their runners go on to run in college. Their coach is amazing and the team very supportive and inclusive. Plus, Southborough is a great town to live in.

Christian Brothers Academy in NJ is consistently one of the top HS running programs in the northeast, public or private.

Note re: day students. I’d pay close attention to the total % of day students in the overall school population. A small %, especially at a rural school, would likely indicate that many/most of the day students are probably fac brats. That may make your kid “other” in a not so good way. Point being even if day students are allowed, they may not be very common. YMMV of course.

+1 for CBA in NJ for boys. But honestly, most of the strong distance programs are at public schools. Take a look at the NXN results and regional NXR results if you want a sense of that. Milesplit and athletic.net to check the level of runners typically competing at these schools. I’d caution not to get too carried away based on middle school results but you’re probably aware of that.

You should look at coaches. The fit matters. Some coaches are laid back and some push.
Also, look at stats for your child’s event. If your child is running at a level several years ahead of their grade, the coach might have feedback. Also, the sex of your child matters. Boys with good results often continue in a more linear fashion. Girls can/often peak after 7th/8th grade due to redistribution of weight ( same goes for boys). And some kids will change direction and not want to run or will chose another sport. You can often speak with coaches directly. Ask about your kids times vs. normal times for that age range. A kid will want to have at least 3-4 other kids at their same level to keep them working hard.

For boarding schools, look up the NEPSTA cross country championship results to get a sense of where boarding schools stand. PEA, Loomis, Hotchkiss, and PA are all near the top most years. Those schools are very different with regard to living near them and having a day student. The results of M10 may determine whether you live just north of Boston versus rural CT.

Also some schools have a pack of kids that run in the same range ( XC) and other schools have a couple of standouts and the rest aren’t close to the top tier. This can indicate: recruited athletes or time spent with a small number of kids ( often with the head coach). Just know how the team is structured and what your time is compared to the other varsity times. If you are JV level how much of a jump is there? Remember current lower classmen students will improve so look at those times as well.