XC Recruiting- Track times?

<p>Hi CC,</p>

<p>For those that have experience in being recruited specifically for XC (women's); how important were track and field times in the recruitment process? Because xc courses are so subjective and vary in terrain and possibly even distance I know many coaches like to see track times. Currently as a junior the d1 school I would like to run xc at needs me to drop some time off of my 5k time. The issue is I play lacrosse in the spring instead of running track and do not have the base times many coaches use to assess talent. Would it be better to run track and send those times if they were within the school's recruitable times? Or will I be ok if I drop time during my senior fall xc season? Any advice is welcome. Thanks for reading!</p>

<p>My D runs XC/TF, but her favorite is XC. Most of the coaches we have talked to said they look at the TF times as far as recruiting, so she’s planning on lowering her times this upcoming Spring in the 400 and 800 for the schools that she’s interested in. Although if you run a consistent good time in XC (below 19, definitely under 18), that would give them a good indication also. XC courses are so different, so your times can be all over the place, but if you’re consistent no matter what course you run, that would be a good sign for them. I think it would depend on the program and how competitive they are. If the program mainly focuses on sprints, that’s what they’re going to be mainly concerned with. Maybe you can do some Junior Olympic meets after lacrosse to get some track times under your belt before your senior year.</p>

<p>If you can place well at XC State, Foot Locker and/or Nike Regional or Nationals, your spring 5k times won’t be that important</p>

<p>Reason they want to see the track times as it makes it very easy to compare kids - as you said all xc courses are different. </p>

<p>As Varska said if you are able to qualify for the higher end meets it is a way to compare you to other runners of a higher calliber</p>

<p>On the plus side a forward thinking coach will look at your XC times and realize you have never really trained all year - LAX training/running is completely different, short bursts, cutting - so there could be plenty of upside to your times. I know a very important question for my S was how many training miles he was doing per week - coaches wanted to make sure ther was still room for improvement</p>

<p>I know you said this is the D1 that interests you the most right now - open your choices </p>

<p>Good Luck</p>

<p>You mention you want to run XC at a D1 school. If you run XC there is usually the expectation that you will run track and vice versa. The D1 commitment for running is usually 3 seasons (XC, indoor if funded and outdoor). Make sure you contact the coach and let him/her know, assuming this is the case, that once in college you will focus on running. If this is not the case, better to find out now if they will even take on a runner who only does XC. </p>

<p>In the meantime, to get some times without giving up lacrosse, see if you can find a local running club that will let you compete for them during the indoor and outdoor seasons. Or depending on the state, there are typically USATF meets during the HS season as well. If you join USATF, you can sign up and compete as unattached during the season as long as you are not currently competing for your school in the same time period. This is allowed, (at least I see it in the SW) where it is not unusual to find athletes competing as unattached in events (e.g steeplechase, javelin, decathlon, etc. ) that are not offered in our normal HS competitions. Also most of the JO qualifying meets go well into the summer months and athletes are not allowed to run for a school. These are official meets and post times to the internet, so if you do anything good it will help with recruiting. </p>

<p>The coach may also count a USATF road race or 5k run result. But make sure it is a certified course, and look for one of those 5K ads that say flat and fast! Even if you have to travel to one or two it will be worth it if you post a good time that the coach can verify on a website.</p>