Luckily, the worst fears associated with Hurricane Matthew have failed to materialize at least South of Cape Canaveral.  Hurricane Matthew continues to churn up the East coast of Florida heading towards Jacksonville, Georgia, and South Carolina.  High winds, power-cuts, and high tides have been reported.  Luckily, Matthew stayed off the coast and is yet to make landfall.  It has been down-graded from a Catogory 4 to a category 3.

While we are a website dedicated to high-school XC and Track, our major concerns are now the safety and well-being of everyone.  Please be cautious and stay safe.

Melbourne, Florida campus of Eastern Florida State University, Brevard County 2 PM est

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Hurricane Matthew has derailed plans for a good many teams up and down the eastern seaboard of Florida, the FSU XC Invitational will see the races go on as planned Friday and Saturday although adjustments can be expected with the race assignments.

With lots of schools not able to participate due to mandatory school closures, the meet will see a diminished field and this would have been the last opportunity to see the best head-to-head match-ups across the classes in the 2016 XC season.  The season culminates with the FHSAA State Finals, November 5th, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

The other major meet this weekend, the Disney Cross Country Classic in Orlando with over 5,000 athletes set to compete from across the nation has been cancelled. Refunds will be issued.

Like we saw in 2015 when the Great American XC Festival was cancelled and earlier this season where weather impacted meets across the State, coaches and teams go in search of other meets to help fill the calendar.

Another item of concern for a good many schools and athletes is the minimum participation rule whereas a team/athlete has to attend 5 meets during the season to be eligble for the State series.  The FHSAA will be reviewing the waiver requests on a case-by-case basis.

PRESS RELEASE

The Florida State Cross Country Invitational is still on as scheduled. ALL RACES ARE STILL ON.

We certainly understand that some teams will not be able to attend due to Hurricane Matthew and personal safety is always our first concern. Please stay safe and best wishes if your area is directly impacted by this storm. For those teams still planning on traveling, please confirm with your School District and athletic directors that you can travel. 

For those teams that will not be able to attend, we will fully refund your entry fee. To get your refund check YOU MUST EMAIL Amanda.Heidecker@VisitTallahassee.com & [email protected] by 5:00 PM today.

For everyone traveling to the meet this weekend, travel safely. And best wishes to those facing uncertainty because of this storm.

Following is a complete schedule of this weekend’s races:

Thursday, Oct. 6

2-6 p.m. Packet Pick-Up/Course Review

Friday, Oct. 7

7:40 a.m. University/College Men (8k)

8:20 a.m. University/College Women (5k)

11:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Packet Pick-Up/Course Review

5:00 p.m. Middle School AAU Girls (3k)

5:30 p.m. Middle School AAU Boys (3k)

6:00 p.m. High School Boys Junior Varsity

6:30 p.m. High School Girls Junior Varsity

Saturday, Oct. 8

7:40 a.m. Boys High High School Elite

8:05 a.m. Girls High School Elite

8:35 a.m. Boys High School Select

9:00 a.m. Girls High School Select

Tallahassee weather forecast for the weekend:

Friday: 86/73 degrees, cloudy with 10% chance of precipitation

Saturday: 90/69 degrees, partly cloudy with 10% chance of precipitation

Meets on the Calendar