Great Outdoor Provision Co. presents the Featured Meet of Week 10:

Southwestern 4A Conference Championship

(Hosted by Myers Park High School, Charlotte)

Meet Page

(Schedule, Teams Entered, Meet History)

The Meet

The Southwestern Conference has been one of the most competitive cross country (and track) conferences in the state for many years. Myers Park has an incredible history in the running sports, and teams like Providence and Ardrey Kell have been strong since their inception. Many people who are new to running in the Charlotte area might not realize the past successes of East Mecklenburg, once one of the top programs in the state (and one whose current boys team is on the rise). Aside from young Rocky River, which is still building its programs, every school in the conference has had its moments of success. Last fall, the Southwestern Conference finished the year with three of the top 10 girls programs in the final All-Classes team rankings, a feat that the conference is poised to repeat this year with teams currently ranked 4th, 6th, and 9th in the state. Although the boys' teams from the conference are on a bit of a down cycle, history proves this will be a competitive meet.

Past Champions

(via NCPrepTrack.com)

Recent Meet History

(Drawn from results submitted to MileSplit)

Girls | Boys

The Course: Myers Park HS

In its short rebirth after a long period of disuse, the course has proven to be a more challenging alternative to Charlotte's gold standard course, McAlpine. After starting on one of the Myers Park athletic fields, the course heads onto a series of wide dirt trails in the woods that surroud the campus, which prove to be fairly hilly. The course occasionally emerges from the woods to run around different sections of the huge Myers Park campus, and it does cross some asphalt during those stretches (as well as a portion that runs alongside a concrete sidewalk). It doesn't appear to be very spectator-friendly, as the runners spend the majority of their time in the woods, but the terrain does seem solid and the footing sure. Runners will have to rely on competition with those around them for motivation, rather than cheering crowds.