Cross Country information

The Natick High School Cross Country team is consistently ranked among the top programs in the state. As part of the Bay State Conference and MA Division 1,  the team delivers outstanding performances season after season.  Learn more about our program here.

PLEASE NOTE: The meet schedule and practice information below is subject to change.  Click here for the most up to date information.

8/26/25 (TUES) Red, White, and Blue Meet Elm Bank @4PM
9/3/25 (WEDS) Natick vs. Milton and Brookline at Houghtons Pond @4:00PM
9/10/25 (WEDS) Natick vs. Wellesley and Braintree at Elm Bank @4:00PM
9/16/25 (TUES) Natick vs. Needham at Elm Bank @ 4:00PM
9/27/25 (SAT) Ocean State Invitational Goddard State Park, RI 8:00 - 12:45
9/30/25 (TUES) Natick vs. Weymouth Wompatuck State Park @4:00PM
10/08/25 (WEDS) Natick vs. Newton North and Walpole, Cold Springs Park @ 4:30
10/11/25 (SAT) MSTCA Twilight Meet or Devens Pre-Championship Classic Cape Cod Fairgrounds, Falmouth MA, 5:00PM or Ft. Devens AM
10/15/25 (WEDS) Natick vs. Framingham Elm Bank @4:00PM
10/25/25 (SAT) BSC Champs Wrentham Developmental Center TBD
11/1/25 (SAT) Frank Mooney Invitational Wrentham Developmental Center AM
11/8/25 (SAT) MIAA Divisionals Wrentham Developmental Center TBD
11/15/25 (SAT) MIAA Meet of Champions Ft. Devens TBD
11/22/22 (SAT) Nike Cross Country Regionals Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls, NY
12/06/25 Nike Cross Country Nationals Portland, OR

DETAILS

Here’s the practice information:
  • Practice Schedule: Practice is held Mondays through Fridays, rain or shine, from 2:45 pm to 5:15 pm.
  • Location: Begin at the Varsity Baseball Field; routes vary based on the training schedule.
  • Attendance: All runners are expected to attend every practice.
  • Excused Absences: Acceptable reasons include illness, doctor appointments, and family commitments. Notify coaches via email as soon as possible about any upcoming absences.
  • Unexcused Absences: Absences without prior communication with the coach are considered unexcused. One unexcused absence results in a one-week suspension from competition. More than one unexcused absence may lead to removal from the team.

equipment

For practice, make sure you bring the following:
  1. Water Bottle: Hydrate before arriving and keep your water bottle handy during practice.
  2. Running Shoes: Wear appropriate running shoes to ensure comfort and prevent injuries.
  3. Weather-Appropriate Clothing: Dress according to the weather conditions to stay comfortable throughout the session.

Always be prepared to maximize your performance and safety.

 

All runners should hydrate properly with water prior to arriving at practice and meets.

 

vacation & Early Release days

  • Labor Day Practice: There will be practice. If you are on family vacation, you are excused from practice. All other runners are expected to be at practice.
  • Jewish Holiday Schedule: We will have practice: If you are on family vacation, or observing the Jewish holiday, you are excused from practice. All other runners are expected to be at practice.
  • Columbus Day: There will be varsity practice on Columbus Day.
  • Early Release Days: Practice or meets will go as regularly scheduled on Wednesdays. Athletes will be responsible for getting back to the high school for practice or the meet bus.

Bay State Conference meet information

League meets are mandatory for all athletes to compete in (exception is illness or injury) for consideration for JV and Varsity rosters.

 

  • Competitions during the week are with other Bay State Conference schools.
  • Home meets take place at Elm Bank.
  • The bus for all meets leaves from the back of the high school at 2:40 pm.
  • JV Races start at 4:00.
    • This could be a combined boys and girls depending on the number of athletes.
  • Girls varsity races start at approximately 4:30pm
  • Boys varsity race starts at approximately 5:00. 
 

It is strongly encouraged for the purpose of team-building and supporting other athletes, that runners stay at the entire meet and ride the bus back to the high school. However, athletes may ride home with a parent/guardian – please tell coach when leaving.

 

To ride home with another athlete’s parent, an email must be sent to the athletic director (tcollins@natickps.org) giving permission.

For invitational meets, not all Natick athletes will compete. Athletes will be notified if they qualify. Runners participating in meets later in the season, based on performance and season-long effort, will continue to practice until their last competition.

General scoring information

All individual performances are important and recorded on athletic.net

  • For team purposes, only the varsity meets are scored.
  • The varsity runners all compete at the same time, but there is a separate score for each pair of schools at a meet.  For example, if three schools are present at a meet, Natick, Brookline, and Wellesley, all of the varsity runners will run the varsity race, and then scoring will be calculated for Natick vs. Wellesley, Natick vs. Brookline, and Brookline vs. Wellesley.
  • The top five runners from each school are counted in team scoring.
  • Individual places of the top five runners are used.  The lowest total team score for all five runners is the winning team.

How to score a cross country meet

The first five runners from each team to cross the finish line receive the points that correspond to their place. The first place runner receives one point, the second place runner two, and so on. The team receiving the lowest score wins.

The sixth and seventh runners on a team, although they don’t receive a score, can also be important, in that they can “displace” scoring runners from the other team. For example, consider the following race:  
Team:
 Natick Framingham
3rd 1st
4th 2nd
6th 5th
7th 11th
8th 12th
(9th)
(10th)
Final Score:
28
31
Natick wins!

As you can see, even though Natick’s sixth and seventh place runners’ scores were not added into the total, they were enough to displace Framingham’s fourth and fifth place runners’ scores, and give the win to Natick.

A score of 27 or less always wins a meet, as does having the first, second and third place winners, with at least five runners finishing. This final instance is called a “sweep”.