Summer Running and Coach updates posted below!
Ice Cream Mile
Sunday August 21st
11:45 PM
Nathan Hale HS
Coach Neil Rasp
contact: [email protected]
Weekly Coach updates are posted in the below section.
XC is a fall sport.
All sports require completed paperwork via finalforms.com and proof of physical. See Athletic hompage for info.
Athletic paperwork is now being completed using finalforms which hopefully will streamline the process.
https://halehs.seattleschools.
2022 Daily Practice Schedule
8/22 – 9/7
Monday 8/22: 9am – 11am – Nathan Hale
Tuesday 8/23: 6pm - 8pm – Lower Woodland Park
Wednesday 8/24: 9am –11am – Nathan Hale
Thursday 8/25: 9am – 11am – Nathan Hale
Friday 8/36: 9am – 11am – Nathan Hale
Saturday 8/27: 9am – 11am – Nathan Hale
Monday 8/29: 4pm – 6pm – Nathan Hale
Tuesday 8/30: 4pm – 6pm – Nathan Hale
Wednesday 8/31: 4pm – 6pm – Nathan Hale
Thursday 9/1: 4pm – 6pm – Nathan Hale
Friday 9/2: 4pm – 6pm – Nathan Hale
Saturday 9/3: 9am – 11am – Nathan Hale
Monday 9/5: Labor Day – No Practice
Tuesday 9/6 4pm – 6pm – Nathan Hale
Wednesday 9/7 First Day of School – Practice moves to 3:50pm
Nathan Hale X-C
2022 Important Dates to Remember – UPDATED
(Practice Monday – Saturday beginning 8/22/22)
Practice at 3:50PM beginning on 9/7/2022
Monday 8/22: Opening Day Cross Country Practice 9:00 AM
(ALL PAPERWORK IN ON FINAL FORMS)
Tues 8/23: Practice at Lower Woodland Park (meet by dirt track) 6:00 PM
Saturday 8/27: Practice at Nathan Hale 9:00 AM
Monday 9/5: Labor Day – NO PRACTICE!
Wed. 9/7: First Day of School (Practice moves to after school) 3:50 PM
Thursday 9/8: X-C Parents Ice Cream Social (Nathan Hale Lunch Room) 8:00 PM
Thursday 9/8: 2-Mile Time Trial (Opening Meet Varsity Roster Determined) 3:50 PM
Friday 9/9: All Gear Handed Out (Uniforms, Warm-ups, Bags, etc…) 3:50 PM
Saturday 9/10: Parents / Alumni 5K Fundraiser at Lower Woodland Park 9:00 AM
Friday 9/16: Opening Meet at Lower Woodland Park* 3:40 PM
Saturday 9/17: Salt Creek Invitational - Port Angeles All-Day
Wed. 9/21: Meet at Lower Woodland Park 3:40 PM
Saturday 9/24: Bellevue Invitational – Lake Sammamish, WA All-Day
Wed. 10/5: Meet at Lower Woodland Park 3:40 PM
Sat. 10/8: Richland Invitational in Richland, WA (Leave Friday, 10/7 @ 9AM)**
Wed. 10/12: Meet at Lower Woodland Park 3:00 PM
Friday 10/14: Pre-Metro Spaghetti Feed – Location TBD 6:30 PM
Thurs. 10/20: Metro Championships at Lower Woodland Park 1:00 PM
Thurs. 10/27: District Championships at Lower Woodland Park 2:30 PM
Monday 10/31: End-of-Season Mile Time Trial 3:50 PM
Friday 11/4: Depart for State in Pasco (Red Lion Pasco) 8:00 AM
Saturday 11/5: STATE All-Day
*Working to get this meet rescheduled
**Pending approval from the school – otherwise this meet will be NIKE Hole in the Wall Invitational at Lakewood H.S.
August 14th:
Hey Raider Runners,
The captains asked me to pass this message along to you. The Ice Cream Mile is a fun, team-building event run by the captains, but is not directly affiliated with NHXC and attendance is optional.
Hey everyone,
Every year, to kick off the official cross country season, the captains put on an ice cream mile. Essentially, contestants eat a pint of ice cream and then run a mile around the track at midnight. You’ll need to bring your own pint of ice cream and a spoon. However, captains will have extra of each if need be. Last year, we had a great turn out, including several students from other sports teams, so bring as many friends as possible. Also, if you don’t want to run, we’d love to have you come down and hang out! If anyone needs a ride you can contact me (Anika). My phone number is (206) 858-3615. Meet at 11:45 pm on Sunday 8/21 at the Hale track. We hope to see everyone there!
Sincerely,
Your NHXC captains
Anika, Payton, Gabe, and Myles
August 10th:
Hey Raider Runners,
I've put together a list of important dates for the cross country season. Page 1 of the document is an overview of the season (meets, events, etc.) and page 2 is a more in-depth look at the practice times before school gets started. Starting on 8/22 we will meet 6 days a week. Note that we will have one practice at Lower Woodland Park on Tuesday 8/23 - if anyone needs a ride to practice that day, let me know and we can coordinate carpooling.
This year we have a large chunk of the season (two and a half weeks!) before the school year starts. Practices during this period are required, and in order to attend practice an athlete must have all of their paperwork on Final Forms completed including an up-to-date physical. If you have a trip planned during this time please let me know - remember, you must have 10 official practices before you can compete in a meet.
Finally, I'd like to remind you that we have unofficial captain-led practices going on up until 8/22. Those practices are held on Mondays and Wednesdays at Lower Woodland Park at 7:00pm and on Tuesday and Friday mornings at 9:00am at Nathan Hale. We'd love to see you there!
We are so excited to get this season going!
Neil Rasp
NHXC / NHT&F
July 6th:
Hey Raider Runners,
Just a quick reminder that tonight's practice is at Lower Woodland. We are meeting on the small hill between the tennis courts and the track. See you there!
Neil
June 30th:
Hey Raider Runners,
I hope you've been enjoying your summer so far! It's been a week and a half since we started summer training, and I've got a few updates:
First, there will be no practice next Monday (7/4) in observance of the 4th of July.
Additionally, it looks like we will (finally) be back at Lower Woodland this year! So, with that in mind, we're going to be shifting Monday and Wednesday evening practices to Lower Woodland Park. We will meet on the small hill between the tennis courts and the track. If you're not sure where this is, feel free to email me or call me at (206)290-4796. They will still be at 7:00pm.
Lastly, I have printed camp forms for those who are interested in going to running camp (7/25 - 7/29). These forms need to be filled out and returned to me or coach Meg to register for running camp. I'll be handing them out at practice over the next few weeks. If you are unable to attend practice in the next 2-3 weeks, but would like to go to camp, shoot me an email and I'll send you an electronic version of the form.
That's it for now, looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow morning!
Neil Rasp
Head Coach NHXC/T&F
(206)290-4796
June 13th:
Hello Raider Runners!
School is about to wrap up, which means it's almost time for summer running! The Nathan Hale Cross Country team will be holding unofficial summer practices starting next week (6/20) on Mondays and Wednesday at 7:00pm and Friday mornings at 9:00am. The team meets in the big field next to the tennis courts at Hale. We hope to see you there next week!
In other news, it's sounding very likely that we will have Lower Woodland back as our home course next fall! With this in mind we may shift our evening practices to Lower Woodland Park in July - I'll keep you posted on that.
Additionally, we are moving forward with our overnight summer camp. I don't have all the details yet, but the camp will be held at Camp Burton on Vashon Island from 7/25 - 7/29.
Looking forward to working with you all this summer!
Neil Rasp (he/him)
Head Coach NHXC and NH T&F
October 17th:
Hey Raider Runners / Families / Supporters,
The postseason has arrived! This Thursday is the Metro Championships at Magnuson Park. Thursday will be the final race for anyone who does not advance to the District Meet (Varsity only) on October 30th and everyone's last chance to PR at our home course this season. This is a large meet, with every school in the league in attendance, and so it is broken up into 7 races. Here is a break down of the schedule including who will be in each race:
1:00pm - JV Women (Open) - All non-varsity girls will be in this race
1:40pm - JV Men (Frosh/Soph) - All non-varsity freshman and sophomore boys will be in this race
2:10pm - JV Men (Junior/Senior) - All non-varsity junior and senior boys (excluding Ian B) will be in this race
3:00pm - Varsity Women
3:40pm - Varsity Men
4:10pm - JV Women (top 14) - We will have no runners in this race
4:50pm - JV Men (top 14) - Ian Barrickman
The top 8 teams and the top 56 individuals in the women's and men's varsity races will advance to the District Championships at Lake Sammamish State Park!
Additionally, we're looking for volunteers to bring snacks (i.e. bagels, fruit, etc.) to help keep our athletes fueled and ready to run fast on Thursday. Please let me know if you are interested in helping out with this.
Go Raiders!
Neil
October 12th:
Hey All,
It has been brought to my attention that this Wednesday all students at Hale are testing, and once finished, will be allowed to go home. This means we will not need anyone to help us carpool down to the meet. All athletes should be at Magnuson by 2:00pm tomorrow. Let me know if you think you/your athlete will need a ride tomorrow and I will help coordinate that.
Race times for tomorrow are as follows:
Varsity girls - 3:00pm
Varsity boys - 3:40pm
JV girls - 4:10pm
JV boys - 4:50pm
Also, we're still looking for a few more course monitors for tomorrow. If you're on the fence, this is your last opportunity this season!
Looking forward to another awesome meet tomorrow!
Neil
October 10th:
Hello Raiders!
With the postseason fast approaching, it's time for our annual pre-metro spaghetti dinner. This year, the dinner will be hosted by Susan and Chris! The following is a message from Susan about the details of the event:
We are excited to host the pre- metro spaghetti feed for all athletes. Come enjoy time with the team and fuel up for metros. We will have pasta and Caesar salads (including vegetarian and gluten free options). We ask that each class bring a drink or dessert. We will have tents and games outside.
When: October 15th: 6-8:30 pm
Where: 3211 NE 87th (Anika’s house)
What to bring?
Freshmen/juniors- drinks
Sophomore/seniors- dessert
If you have any allergies, let the coaches or Anika know, so we can plan for that.
Hope you can join!
Thank you Susan for volunteering to host this event! Additionally, we will have a slide show running throughout the night with photos from the season. If you have any photos you would like to contribute, please send them to Coach Meg by Tuesday afternoon. Her email is [email protected].
Finally, I am in need of course monitors one last time for this Wednesday's meet (10/13). Monitors will need to meet us at the team tent by 2:30pm on Wednesday. If you are interested in being a course monitor please let me know so I can expect to see you there.
Go Raiders!
Neil
October 5th:
Hey Raiders!
I've got a couple updates for this week. First, we have another Magnuson meet tomorrow. Thank you to those who have volunteered to help us carpool. Athletes will be out of class at 2:00pm. The meet will run exactly like Friday's with the girls racing together at 3:40pm and the boys going off at 4:20pm.
Secondly, with no school this Friday, we will not be holding practice. Friday is still a pre-meet day for the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational, so folks will be expected to get a short run and strides in at some point during the day. Also, be sure to attend Thursday's practice as we will be going over logistics for the meet and race plans.
Finally, this Saturday marks our third and final Invitational for the season. For the first time ever, the Raiders will be travelling to Lakewood H.S. in Arlington for the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational. This is another big one, and it should be a lot of fun! The bus will be leaving from the student lot at 6:30am on Saturday morning. Our last race is at 3:00pm, so we hope to be home by 5:00pm. Athletes will want to bring a lunch as this is another long day.
Go Raiders!
Neil
September 26th:
Hey folks,
Thanks to those who have volunteered to help us get down to Magnuson this Friday (10/1). We should be good to go on seats for athletes. I'm emailing today to ask for course monitors for this week's meet. If you are interested in being a course monitor, you will need to meet me at the Nathan Hale tent by 3:00pm so I can get you out to your spot on the course.
Please let me know if you are able to be a course monitor for Friday (10/1). Thanks!
Neil
September 23rd:
Hey folks,
This Saturday (9/25) is the Bellevue Invitational. It's a lot like last weekend, except this meet is much larger and much closer to home! There will be a bus leaving from the student lot at 7:15am on Saturday morning, and we will try to be back at Hale between 4:00pm and 4:30pm (barring any more traffic jams). Additionally, because the meet is so close to home - Lake Sammamish State Park - athletes are welcome to get themselves out to the meet, or catch a ride back with a parent. Any athlete who is planning on getting to the meet separately should be sure to arrive at least one hour before their race. I will announce which race everyone is in tomorrow, along with race plans. If you are planning on staying at the course for the whole meet, you should plan on bringing lunch.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Neil
September 19th:
Hello Raiders,
I am forwarding this message from Tara Simpson. Please consider donating. Thank you!
Hello Cross Country Families!
I hope you are all enjoying the XC season so far, I know that our family is!
My name is Tara Simpson, I am Jemma's mom. Our family has been involved with the XC team for a number of years now, as our two sons, George & Calvin (2016) were also on the team. It has been such a great experience for our family to be a part of such a supportive team and watch our kids achieve their goals. We are very lucky to have such an amazing coaching staff that cares so much about their athletes!
Unfortunately, the sports programs are underfunded and rely heavily on donations to keep going. In the past we have done organized fundraisers, however the organizations running these keep a percentage of the money and it is often extra work/time for the students to sell these items. We would much prefer to see our students focus their time on homework, XC, and enjoying their high school experience. The cross country team is looking for your help to purchase new warm ups and timing equipment, as well as miscellaneous items such as blanks, spikes, PR buttons, etc. If there isn’t enough money in the XC account, then sometimes the coaching staff will end up paying for items out of their own pocket.
If you are able - here is how you can donate to the team (any amount would be much appreciated!)
On-line - https://www.halesports.org/
teams/default.asp?u=BOOSTER&s= org&p=fundraiser (Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page for cross country donations)
By check - please make it out to Nathan Hale Sports Boosters and please be sure to write “Cross Country” in the memo line. Your student can give the check to Jemma at practice and we will hand them in to the booster club.
Thank you so much for your support of this awesome sport…hope to see you cheering out on the course!
Warm Regards,
Tara
September 17th:
Hey Folks,
I will be going over the details of tomorrow's invitational at practice today, but I thought it would be good to send an email as well.
The meet takes place at Salt Creek Campground, which is about 20 minutes west of Port Angeles. We'll be taking a yellow school bus, and leaving from the Nathan Hale student parking lot at 5:15am (please try to arrive 5 minutes early so we can get everyone on the bus and leave on time). Depending on the ferry, we should be back at Hale between 4:00 and 5:00pm.
There has been a slight change to the format of the meet from years past: the open race is now a community race only. So if any siblings or parents want to come run the course, you're welcome to! As a result, the JV races will be slightly larger, as they will include everyone aside from the top 7 runners on each team. The schedule for the races is as follows:
9:45am Open (community) race
10:30am JV women
11:00am JV men
11:30am Varsity women (top 7)
12:01pm Varsity men (top 7)
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the meet this weekend.
Finally, don't forget that the Saelens brothers are hosting a team party tonight after practice! The address is 9233 41st Ave NE.
Go raiders!
Neil
September 12th:
Hey Raider Runners,
I'm excited to tell you that we have our first two meets of the season coming up this week! Our first meet is this Wednesday at Magnuson Park. For this meet, the team will be excused early from school, and we will carpool from the student parking lot at 2:00pm. There will be two races, the girls will race first at 3:40pm, and the boys will follow at 4:10pm. Parents are welcome to come support the athletes! If you are new to the team and don't have the required 10 practices, you should still come and cheer on your teammates (this will count as a practice!).
We also have our first Invitational this Saturday (9/18)! On Saturday the team will be meeting in the student parking lot at 5:15am and taking a bus out to Salt Creek Campground, near Port Angeles. We usually get back to Seattle by 4 or 5pm from this event. All athletes are welcome and encouraged to come! Athletes should bring a sack lunch.
Additionally, the Saelens family is hosting a party for the team this Friday night. The following is information on the party from Ben:
Hi everyone,
Zach and I will be hosting a pre-Salt Creek party 6 to 8:30 pm on Friday (9/17), the day before Salt Creek, to hang out and get psyched for our first invitational of the year! We will have games and tents set up outside. For food, we'll have stuff for taco bar (with vegetarian and gluten free options) and cups, plates, etc. We will ask that each class bring sides or drinks.
Freshmen/Seniors - Desserts
Sophomore/Juniors - Drinks
If you have any allergies, let the coaches or one of the Saelens brothers know, so we can plan for that. Our address is 9233 41st Ave NE (it's the blue one at the end of the street) and there isn't a ton of parking around, so it would be great if you could carpool or get a ride.
Hope to see you there!
Ben Saelens
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me,
Neil
September 7th:
Hey Raider Runners,
A quick reminder about Wednesday practices. Despite the fact that school is out early on Wednesdays, we are not allowed to hold practice early. As a result, practices on Wednesdays will be at the same time as on other weekdays (3:50pm).
See you tomorrow!
Neil
September 2nd:
Hey Folks,
I apologize for flooding your inboxes, but I've got one more important email to send out this week.
First, we're looking for parent volunteers to help carpool athletes from Nathan Hale to Magnuson Park on our meet days. We will only need 15-20 seats for each day. The meets for which we need drivers are on the following dates:
Wednesday 9/15
Friday 10/1
Wednesday 10/6
Wednesday 10/13
We will need drivers to arrive at Hale at 2:00pm on 9/15, 10/1, and 10/6, and 1:30pm on 10/13. If you are interested in helping us get our athletes to any of these meets, you can sign up by responding to this email with the date(s) you'd like to drive and the number of seats you have available.
We are also hoping someone is willing to host a pre-Metro spaghetti feed. This will need to be an outdoor event, and will likely only involve athletes this year. Coach Meg will fill you in on other details if you are interested in hosting! You can respond to this email, or contact her directly at [email protected].
Additionally, the district has added another component to the paperwork on Final Forms. Please fill this out ASAP.
Finally, as Monday is Labor Day, there will be no practice. Athletes should get a run in if possible. Mileage for Monday is as follows:
Black group: mileage assigned individually
Grey group: 5 miles
Red group: 4-5 miles
White group: 3 miles
Blue group: 2-3 miles
Go Raiders!
Neil
August 31st:
Hey Raider Runners,
Good news! I have received the OK to resume practice again tomorrow. As tomorrow is the first day of school, practice will move to 3:50 (15 minutes after school). We will continue to meet in the large field between the softball fields and the tennis courts.
I'll see you all tomorrow!
Neil
August 26th:
Hey Raider Runners,
As it turns out, there have been some last minute changes to both our meet schedule and the new course at Magnuson. I have attached the new schedule and course map to this email.
The changes to the schedule don't affect the dates of any meets, but you'll notice that our meet that was scheduled for Lincoln Park, has been moved to Magnuson. Additionally, after speaking with Darby (NH Athletic Director) and the other coaches, we have decided to remove Richland from the schedule. We're planning on replacing it with the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational, which is much closer to Seattle and does not require an overnight trip.
A few more updates: Now that the season has begun, we are adding 9:00am practices on Saturdays (unless we have a meet). These will mostly be dedicated to long runs. We know that weekends can get busy, but we hope that you will attend these practices when you can. Lastly, we want to give everyone a chance to run the new Magnuson course before our first meet. We are going to be holding our practice on Monday (8/30) at Magnuson Park. We can meet at the Magnuson Community Center and walk down to the start line from there. Monday's practice will still be at 4:00pm.
Let me know if you have any questions/concerns and thank you for your patience with all of the changes!
August 23rd:
Hey Raider Runners,
It's the first day of the season! The coaches and I are very excited to get this season started. Don't forget - practice has now been moved to 4:00pm every weekday!
I have a few more updates for you: for one, I am attaching the meet schedule for the season to this email. As you look it over, there are a few things to note about the schedule.
First, you'll notice that we're looking a lot more like a normal season this year - yes we will be going to a few invitationals, and Districts and State are back! With that being said, we may be limiting ourselves to two invitationals this season. Richland is generally an overnight trip, and with Covid numbers the way they are, it may end up being removed from our schedule.
Another important note is that the coaches around the league are fighting for the return of Lower Woodland, but right now unfortunately, the park is still unavailable to us. At this time any meet that is scheduled for LW will be run at Magnuson. There has been a proposed course update for Magnuson, which will make the course less repetitive for the runners (better for athletes, harder for spectators!). I have included the updated course map in this email. The coaches and I are planning to hold a practice at Magnuson in the near future to get a chance to run the course before the first meet - I will keep you updated on that!
Ok! I think that's enough info for one email. Looking forward to seeing you all this afternoon!