by RBR AdminCross country is one of those rites of Fall. It is the a great team sport, and a great introduction, for many, into the sport of athletics.
California and Texas lead the way in High School Cross Country Participation
MADISON – American Track and Field magazine congratulates California and Texas for ranking one and two in 2012 cross country participation.
California had the most boys with 29,583, as well as the most runners overall with 53,945. Texas had the most girls with 27,689 and the second most runners overall with 51,571.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) records, 463,569 high school students ran cross country last fall. Runners from California and Texas made up 23% of all participants. The top 10 includes:
- California – 53,945 (12%)
- Texas – 51,571 (11%)
- Pennsylvania – 22,400 (5%)
- Illinois – 21,788 (5%)
- New York – 18,227 (4%)
- Ohio – 17,464 (4%)
- Michigan – 17,122 (4%)
- Minnesota – 14,859 (3%)
- Florida – 13,878 (3%)
- New Jersey – 13,848 (3%)
* Percentage in parenthesis indicates rounded percentage of total United States participants that the respective state represents.
“Cross country continues to grow on both the boys and girls sides of sport. The girls side is growing robustly! As part of the largest sport in High School sports (athletics), cross country is a great introduction to lifelong fitness,” noted Larry Eder, AT&F publisher.
American Track & Field is a professional publication dedicated to improving the image and performances of American track and field, cross country and race walking athletes. ATF has 37, 553 subscribers, and is in its 20th year. By becoming a go to source for training information, ATF takes a grassroots approach to improving the coaching quality of the 1.51 million serious athletes across these disciplines by providing coaches with professional and accurate coaching and training content. For more information, visit www.american-trackandfield.com.
Participation data for the last several years can be found at http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=3282.
2012 High School Cross Country Participation Figures
| State | Boys | Girls | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1,316 | 1,180 | 2,496 |
| Alaska | 1,088 | 733 | 1,821 |
| Arizona | 3,538 | 2,705 | 6,243 |
| Arkansas | 1,165 | 886 | 2,051 |
| California | 29,583 | 24,362 | 53,945 |
| Colorado | 3,996 | 4,186 | 8,182 |
| Connecticut | 3,941 | 2,699 | 6,640 |
| Delaware | 949 | 744 | 1,693 |
| DC | 94 | 65 | 159 |
| Florida | 7,083 | 6,795 | 13,878 |
| Georgia | 7,522 | 5,881 | 13,403 |
| Hawaii | 940 | 661 | 1,601 |
| Idaho | 1,652 | 1,344 | 2,996 |
| Illinois | 11,319 | 10,469 | 21,788 |
| Indiana | 5,005 | 4,976 | 9,981 |
| Iowa | 5,160 | 4,482 | 9,642 |
| Kansas | 3,813 | 2,953 | 6,766 |
| Kentucky | 3,011 | 2,740 | 5,751 |
| Louisiana | 2,637 | 2,219 | 4,856 |
| Maine | 1,324 | 1,111 | 2,435 |
| Maryland | 3,950 | 2,753 | 6,703 |
| Massachusetts | 6,691 | 5,610 | 12,301 |
| Michigan | 8,744 | 8,378 | 17,122 |
| Minnesota | 6,680 | 8,179 | 14,859 |
| Mississippi | 2,548 | 1,301 | 3,849 |
| Missouri | 5,427 | 3,880 | 9,307 |
| Montana | 1,014 | 863 | 1,877 |
| Nebraska | 2,722 | 2,080 | 4,802 |
| Nevada | 1,078 | 906 | 1,984 |
| New Hampshire | 1,151 | 998 | 2,149 |
| New Jersey | 8,241 | 5,607 | 13,848 |
| New Mexico | 1,567 | 1,349 | 2,916 |
| New York | 10,261 | 7,966 | 18,227 |
| North Carolina | 8,753 | 4,614 | 13,367 |
| North Dakota | 584 | 524 | 1,108 |
| Ohio | 9,383 | 8,081 | 17,464 |
| Oklahoma | 2,662 | 2,385 | 5,047 |
| Oregon | 3,571 | 2,859 | 6,430 |
| Pennsylvania | 11,200 | 11,200 | 22,400 |
| Rhode Island | 969 | 673 | 1,642 |
| South Carolina | 3,262 | 2,200 | 5,462 |
| South Dakota | 912 | 673 | 1,585 |
| Tennessee | 4,082 | 3,045 | 7,127 |
| Texas | 23,882 | 27,689 | 51,571 |
| Utah | 2,640 | 2,167 | 4,807 |
| Vermont | 458 | 353 | 811 |
| Virginia | 6,116 | 4,845 | 10,961 |
| Washington | 6,753 | 4,569 | 11,322 |
| West Virginia | 887 | 714 | 1,601 |
| Wisconsin | 7,338 | 6,323 | 13,661 |
| Wyoming | 538 | 394 | 932 |
| Total | 249,200 | 214,369 | 463,569 |
Stats compiled by Kevin Mangan, AT&F intern. Special thanks to Breanne Ward, AT&F publicist.
