What Makes Us Different?

What makes the Middle School & Elementary State Meet different from the rest? Well it’s our 18th year for starters. During that time, we have had some of the greatest runners in Ohio cross country history come run with us. We continue to follow them and highlight their accomplishments long after they have left middle school.

Starting with packet pick up you will start to see what sets us apart. While most events give you a Manila envelope with your runner’s chips and numbers, we give every coach a zippered team bag with everything inside to get them prepared for their race. We give each runner a NEOPRENE WRISTBAND printed with a personal message telling runners to Be Legendary! Paper wrist bands are lot’s cheaper but we want to invest in our athletes. We give away 1200 pairs of Ohiocrosscountry.org sunglasses just because.

Our course is a one of kind and spectator friendly trail that winds thru the woods and ends on a great straight away in front of a cheering crowd in the football stadium. We play music on the sound system all day long too.

We treat the top 15 finishers in every race like the VIPs they are. They each get one of our iconic custom-made medals painted with our unique Red Enamel. Each one gets a large Willy Wonka Chocolate Bar. These are handmade specifically for our runners with only the finest ingredients. There are also Golden Tickets hidden inside 5 of them good for a free T-shirt from Fine Designs so make sure to check.

We are the only Cross-Country race in the world that gives a GIANT 5-pound Gummy Bear to our top 3 finishers in every race.

We are again giving away one large Gumball Machine every race to one of the top 15 finishers. The race winner will draw a number out of the hat that will have numbers 1 thru 15 inside. For example, if they draw number 9 then the 9th place finisher wins the prize! This year we are adding an exciting new twist. If the ONE green ball is pulled out ALL Top 15 finishers in that race get a Gumball Machine!

We give championship medals to EVERY member of the winning team in each race… yes even if you have 30 runners or more. If they ran they get rewarded at our event!

Each year we literally crown Ohio’s fastest boy and girl. We call them the Rock Stars of Ohio Cross Country and proudly display their names on a large banner at our event every year. They each receive a large trophy, Jeweled Crowns and fitted Championship rings which they will cherish forever. New in 2024 Ohio’s fastest boy will also get an AMAZING 12 inch Statue of the Flash while Ohio’s fastest girl will get an exact replica of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from the 1939 movie The Wizard Of Oz! Just click your heals together 3 times and repeat “There’s no place like the State Meet”

Our award ceremony is second to none and runners receive their medals to the music of the Olympic Games. We built a giant awards podium which we named Big Blue and we love how proud are runners are to climb up on it. These are just a few of the things we do to let our runners know how special they are and to create memories that will last forever. When choosing your post season event we hope you choose the 18th Annual Ohio Cross Country Middle School and Elementary State Championships in Hilliard October 22nd!

We will be presenting a large trophy and fitted Championship rings to Ohio's fastest Elementary Boy and Girl. We are also going to give plaques to the fastest boy and girl In the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades.

We do Cross Country Different…