Cross-country sectionals preview, 2024: FAQ and things to know ahead of Saturday

After months of anticipation, the 2024 cross country postseason is finally here. NJ.com will be your one-stop shop for postseason XC between now and the end of the season.
While the postseason is exciting time for athletes, coaches, spectators and others, there’s a lot going on when it comes to how the postseason operates and who advances to the next round. To help simplfy things, we created a guide to navigate
NOTE: Click here for more information about when and where your favorite school will compete during sectionals, along with their section/group.
The NJSIAA cross country sectional championships is considered to be the first round of the postseason for public schools, where hundreds of teams and thousands of runners compete to earn a spot at one of the four group championship meets at Holmdel Park.
There are four sectional meets that will be held on Saturday, November 2: (North 1, North 2, Central & South). Additionally, each sectional meet has four races (per gender) that are divided between Groups 1-4.
For each sectional race, the top five teams in the team standings automatically qualify, along with the top 15 individual finishers. The teams and runners who qualify automatically will compete in the State Group Championships that will be held at Holmdel Park on November 9.
My school is considered a Non-Public, when do we compete?
The NJSIAA does not offer sectional championships for Non-Public schools. Instead, those schools will compete in the Non-Public A or Non-Public B championship races at the NJSIAA Group Championships at Holmdel Park.
All sectional meets will start at 10 AM and the race schedule will also be the same for each meet as well. Here’s when each Group will run:
10:00 – Boys Group 1
10:30 – Boys Group 3
11:00 – Girls Group 1
11:30 – Girls Group 3
12:00 – Boys Group 2
12:30 – Boys Group 4
1:00 – Girls Group 2
1:30 – Girls Group 4
Yes, a trophy and ten certificates will go to the first place team in each section/group, meaning that there will be 16 boys team champions and 16 girls team champions between the four sectional meets.
For example, the North 1 meet will award a sectional champion for Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4. The same thing occurs for the North 2, Central, and South meets.
Medals will also be awarded to the top 10 finishers in each section. Runners placing 11-15 will advance to groups, but not receive a medal.
Corey Annan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him or send him a message on Twitter/X @coreyannan360.
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