Varsity and Provisional Letter Requirements
Points will be accumulated over the 10 regular season meets and tabulated for each athlete following the tenth meet.
All Letter Requirements
To earn a Varsity or Provisional Letter, the Cross Country runner must:
- End the season in good standing.
- End the season with 95% attendance at practices and meets (miss no more than four), excluding school function absences or extenuating circumstances as agreed upon between the coach(es) and parent(s).
Varsity Letter Requirements
In addition to the “All Letter Requirements” (above), to earn a Varsity Letter, the Cross Country runner must meet one of the following criteria:
- Earn a minimum of 16 points based on "Scoring at Invitationals and Championships” (below).
- Earn two provisional letters in Cross Country.
- Complete four full seasons of Cross Country at the high school level.
Provisional Letter Requirements
In addition to the “All Letter Requirements” (above), to earn a Provisional Letter, the Cross Country runner must earn 1-15 points based on “Scoring at Invitationals and Championships” (below).
Scoring at Invitationals and Championships
Athletes selected to run in a meet as an individual or as a member of a team have the following opportunities to earn points towards a Varsity or Provisional Letter:
Varsity Invitationals/Championships (8 points maximum per meet)
+ 4 points as an INDIVIDUAL finishing in the first 10% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 3 points as an INDIVIDUAL finishing between 10% and through 25% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 2 points as an INDIVIDUAL finishing between 25% and through 50% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 1 point as an INDIVIDUAL finishing between 50% and through 75% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 1 point for winning the INDIVIDUAL Invitational/Championship (1st place)
+ 2 points for winning an INDIVIDUAL medal as long as there are at least twice as many runners as medals awarded, otherwise only the top 50% of the runners
+ 1 point for winning an INDIVIDUAL medal if more than 50% of runners are awarded medals and the runner is not in the top 50% of the finishers
+ 1 point for improving an INDIVIDUAL 5k personal record (PR) by at least 5% faster than their most recent PR based on the MSHSAA Class 3 Championships record finish time. The current records are 15:37.9 for Boys (Josh Thebeau of Potosi in 2006) and 17:31.3 for Girls (Taylor Werner of Ste. Genevieve in 2013). Note - The first official 5k for first-year runners is excluded as a PR for letter requirements. For example, Taylor Werner's record time is 17:31.30, or 1,051.3 seconds. Katelen Moerschel's PR for 2013 was 22:55.5, or 1,375.5 seconds. The difference between those two times is 5:24.2, or 324.2 seconds. Five percent of 324.2 is 16.21 seconds. Subtract that from Katie's PR. If Katelen improves her time to 22:39.29, or 1,359.29 seconds, or faster, then she will earn a point towards her letter.
+ 1 point for winning the TEAM Invitational/Championship (1st place)
+ 1 point for winning a TEAM medal, plaque, or trophy as long as there are at least twice as many teams as plaques awarded, otherwise only the top 50% of the teams
+ 1 point for competing in the Conference Varsity Championship
- 2 points (per day) for missing a practice or meet due to Out of School Suspension (OSS)
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet due to detentions
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet without personally notifying the coach in advance (including OSS and detentions)
Athletes selected to run in a Junior Varsity, First Years, 10th Grade/Soph, or 9th Grade/Frosh meet as an individual or as a member of a team have the following opportunities to earn points towards a Varsity or Provisional Letter:
Junior Varsity/10th Grade/9th Grade/C Team/1st Years Invitationals/Championships (8 points maximum per meet)
+ 1 point for winning the INDIVIDUAL Invitational/Championship (1st place)
+ 1 point each for an INDIVIDUAL finishing with a faster time than ESHS Varsity runners, provided the race is contested over the same course with the same conditions
+ 1 point for an INDIVIDUAL running faster than the fifth place finisher of the team one place behind ESHS in the Varsity team standings, provided the race is contested over the same course with the same conditions
+ 1 point for improving an INDIVIDUAL 5k personal record (PR) by at least 5% faster than their most recent PR based on the MSHSAA Class 3 Championships record finish time. The current records are 15:37.9 for Boys (Josh Thebeau of Potosi in 2006) and 17:31.3 for Girls (Taylor Werner of Ste. Genevieve in 2013). Note - The first official 5k for first-year runners is excluded as a PR for letter requirements. For example, Taylor Werner's record time is 17:31.30, or 1,051.3 seconds. Katelen Moerschel's PR for 2013 was 22:55.5, or 1,375.5 seconds. The difference between those two times is 5:24.2, or 324.2 seconds. Five percent of 324.2 is 16.21 seconds. Subtract that from Katelen's PR. If Katie improves her time to 22:39.29, or 1,359.29 seconds, or faster, then she will earn a point towards her letter.
+ 1 point for winning the TEAM Invitational/Championship and recognized by being awarded a team medal, plaque, or trophy (1st place)
- 2 points (per day) for missing a practice or meet due to Out of School Suspension (OSS)
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet due to detentions
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet without personally notifying the coach in advance (including OSS and detentions)
Varsity Invitationals/Championships (8 points maximum per meet)
+ 4 points as an INDIVIDUAL finishing in the first 10% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 3 points as an INDIVIDUAL finishing between 10% and through 25% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 2 points as an INDIVIDUAL finishing between 25% and through 50% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 1 point as an INDIVIDUAL finishing between 50% and through 75% of ALL Varsity runners
+ 1 point for winning the INDIVIDUAL Invitational/Championship (1st place)
+ 2 points for winning an INDIVIDUAL medal as long as there are at least twice as many runners as medals awarded, otherwise only the top 50% of the runners
+ 1 point for winning an INDIVIDUAL medal if more than 50% of runners are awarded medals and the runner is not in the top 50% of the finishers
+ 1 point for improving an INDIVIDUAL 5k personal record (PR) by at least 5% faster than their most recent PR based on the MSHSAA Class 3 Championships record finish time. The current records are 15:37.9 for Boys (Josh Thebeau of Potosi in 2006) and 17:31.3 for Girls (Taylor Werner of Ste. Genevieve in 2013). Note - The first official 5k for first-year runners is excluded as a PR for letter requirements. For example, Taylor Werner's record time is 17:31.30, or 1,051.3 seconds. Katelen Moerschel's PR for 2013 was 22:55.5, or 1,375.5 seconds. The difference between those two times is 5:24.2, or 324.2 seconds. Five percent of 324.2 is 16.21 seconds. Subtract that from Katie's PR. If Katelen improves her time to 22:39.29, or 1,359.29 seconds, or faster, then she will earn a point towards her letter.
+ 1 point for winning the TEAM Invitational/Championship (1st place)
+ 1 point for winning a TEAM medal, plaque, or trophy as long as there are at least twice as many teams as plaques awarded, otherwise only the top 50% of the teams
+ 1 point for competing in the Conference Varsity Championship
- 2 points (per day) for missing a practice or meet due to Out of School Suspension (OSS)
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet due to detentions
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet without personally notifying the coach in advance (including OSS and detentions)
Athletes selected to run in a Junior Varsity, First Years, 10th Grade/Soph, or 9th Grade/Frosh meet as an individual or as a member of a team have the following opportunities to earn points towards a Varsity or Provisional Letter:
Junior Varsity/10th Grade/9th Grade/C Team/1st Years Invitationals/Championships (8 points maximum per meet)
+ 1 point for winning the INDIVIDUAL Invitational/Championship (1st place)
+ 1 point each for an INDIVIDUAL finishing with a faster time than ESHS Varsity runners, provided the race is contested over the same course with the same conditions
+ 1 point for an INDIVIDUAL running faster than the fifth place finisher of the team one place behind ESHS in the Varsity team standings, provided the race is contested over the same course with the same conditions
+ 1 point for improving an INDIVIDUAL 5k personal record (PR) by at least 5% faster than their most recent PR based on the MSHSAA Class 3 Championships record finish time. The current records are 15:37.9 for Boys (Josh Thebeau of Potosi in 2006) and 17:31.3 for Girls (Taylor Werner of Ste. Genevieve in 2013). Note - The first official 5k for first-year runners is excluded as a PR for letter requirements. For example, Taylor Werner's record time is 17:31.30, or 1,051.3 seconds. Katelen Moerschel's PR for 2013 was 22:55.5, or 1,375.5 seconds. The difference between those two times is 5:24.2, or 324.2 seconds. Five percent of 324.2 is 16.21 seconds. Subtract that from Katelen's PR. If Katie improves her time to 22:39.29, or 1,359.29 seconds, or faster, then she will earn a point towards her letter.
+ 1 point for winning the TEAM Invitational/Championship and recognized by being awarded a team medal, plaque, or trophy (1st place)
- 2 points (per day) for missing a practice or meet due to Out of School Suspension (OSS)
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet due to detentions
- 1 points (per day) for missing all or part of a practice or meet without personally notifying the coach in advance (including OSS and detentions)