Saturday, September 30, 2023

Welcome to the 50th Annual Sunfair Invitational.

The 50th annual Sunfair Invitational Cross Country Meet will be held Saturday September 30, 2023 at Franklin Park in Yakima, Washington. About 1000 runners are expected to descend upon Franklin Park for an exciting day of top level competition. In past years teams from British Columbia, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington have participated. The Sunfair Invitational is comprised of 13 races over various courses at Franklin Park. There is an appropriate race for every member of a team to participate in, including coaches and spectators. The highlights of the day usually occur during the 5 varsity flights, where a single varsity runner from each team (boy and girl) will compete against their counterparts from the other participating teams. The meet begins at 9:00 am with the 3rd-6th grade girls' race and will end at 3:45 pm with the awards ceremony at the base of the Franklin Park terraces. The varsity flights start at 12:15 PM.

The Sunfair Cross Country Invitational is one of the largest single-day high school participation event in the Northwest. We are proud to associate with gear UP Sports as a sponsor of the meet. Many local entities and individuals will partner with gear Up Sports and the Eisenhower Cross Country Parents Club to help insure a fun, safe and successful event.

The meet director for the Sunfair Cross Country Invitational is Phil English, Cross Country coach for Eisenhower High School.

Please Note: Boys & Girls will run together in the first 3 varsity flights. The final 2 Varsity flights will be run separately. Prior to the start of the final flights, we will be introducing the top competitors. If you have an athlete deserving of recognition at this time please email us with their accomplishments to Administration@SunfairRun.com by September 27th.

Scoring and Awards

Meet Scoring

Boys and Girls will run together in the first three varsity flights. Girls' Flight #7 will be run separately, with only the top girl athlete on each team and then the Boys' Flight #7 with only the top boy athlete on each team. Prior to the start of the Flight #7 races, we will be introducing the top competitors.

For team results, the runners will be scored in each flight against the same rank of runners from the other competing teams. For example, the fastest runner from each team in the first varsity flights will score against each other, and the second fastest runner from each team will score against each other.

NOTE: Any team not entering or completing a full flight as required will receive the points equal to the number of runners in that flight as a penalty, for team scoring.

Results

Results will be posted on Athletic.net, and we will post results after the races are completed.

Lane Assignments

There will be no assigned lanes. Runners are free to start at any point behind the starting line.

Race Numbers

All runners must wear their race number during their race. These numbers will be provided in the team packets. No High School teams or individuals will be entered on the day of the meet. Athletes in grades 3rd-8th who did not pre-register will be provided race numbers prior to the start of their races.

Packet Pick-up

Packets may be picked-up at the Rotary Pavilion on the south side of Franklin Park on Friday afternoon from 2:00PM - 4:00PM or on Saturday morning after 7:00AM.

Awards Ceremony

An awards ceremony will take place following the final varsity flights. The ceremony is held at the base of the terraces in the northeast corner of the park.

Individual Awards

Medals to winners in every race and in each Varsity flight

Ribbons for places 1-50 in each non-varsity race

Ribbons for places 1-5 in each varsity flight.

Team Awards

Boys & Girls Trophies to 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place in combined classification.

Overall trophy to the top Boys & Girls combined school (for the 7 Varsity Flights)

Please Note: Boys & Girls will run together in the first varsity flights. Flight 7 will be run separately. Prior to the start of the Flight 7 races we will be introducing the top competitors. If you have an athlete deserving of recognition at this time please email us with their accomplishments to Administration@SunfairRun.com by September 27th.