XC teams that defy the wealth barrier

Asking the wrong question. There isn't a barrier, anyone with functional legs can go for a run and start training. The question is why are kids from wealthy families more likely to train in a way that makes you fast.

C'mon man! Not everyone there is a trust fund baby, but compared to the average school in metro New Orleans or anywhere else in the country? Yes, it's a rich kid school.

Source: I went to Jesuit.

Neither Kenya nor Ethiopia are rich countries

According to Wikipedia that town’s average income is $73k. For rural Wisconsin that has to be middle class. Not wealthy but not west Baltimore either.

Oh! Definitely CBA in NJ!!

Downers Grove is a nice area, but hardly one of the “wealthiest locales in the entire nation.” In fact, it is only the 12th wealthiest in their county (DuPage). Also, their HS pulls about a 1/3 of their students from other towns: Woodridge and Westmont (which are the 24th and 36th wealthiest in the county). It is an upper middle class town. The median household income for the US is 80K. Downers is 115K, Woodridge is 95K and Westmont is 82K.

People saying there isn't a difference among affluent and poor schools in distance running are just ignorant.

There is a huge difference. At the very least there is a minimal economic level to be consistently successful with reasonable coaching.

To answer the question, Mayde Creek HS in Katy, TX is a title I that qualified for state this year in the 6A girls division. Katy HS, while not Title I, won region for boys and girls and their economically disadvantaged percentage is higher than all teams in the top half of state finishers. The coaches at both programs are doing excellent jobs.

They should hand out participation metals everyone at high school meets rather than just handing out metals to the top runners.

Also, stop timing.

Agree. At the same time, could it be the food? Rural diets used to be healthier than urban/suburban ones. But as the walmartification of rural areas has solidified perhaps folks in rural areas are being poisoned more than their wealthy suburban counterparts?

Alamosa in Colorado has won a decent number of state titles in XC and produced lots of great athletes in track. Alamosa is not one of the more affluent parts of Colorado, by any means. But that success is easily explained by Alamosa's connection to and the fact that it's often drawing from the talent pools associated with perennial DII powerhouse Adams State. A couple of years back it won a girls XC state title, and I think the entire top five was the offspring of at least one DII national champion.

Or maybe give their parents spelling tests.

In Massachusetts have seen Brockton and Lowell both win state titles and are both lower income, city, diverse schools but usually on the boys side. Rarely do we see girls with the same success, and girls teams are yes affluent suburb schools. I think safe running locations is much more important for a girls team, for off-season training and the like.

LOL at blaming "the wealth barrier" for people being bad at the simplest, cheapest sport in existence. I bet every school you believe to be "held back by the wealth barrier" manages to field a football team.

It definitely has an effect. Between:

- shoes

- clothing

-having more time to balance running with school/sleep vs if you have chores and a job as well

-better nutrition

-PT and medical access,

- coaching

- parents who have time to be involved in their kids' sports vs those who only have time to be concerned with a job.

Example: In Portland, OR the wealthiest schools in the area of Jesuit, Central Catholic, Lincoln, and Wells all have successful XC programs, you all see these kids with the latest and greatest gear, facilities etc. Meanwhile schools like Benson and Parkrose have never had success, often due to a lack of these things. The only times they have had any good runners, is when they have had genetic talents.

Maybe. Of all college sports, Crew has the highest average GPA and XC is second. The remaining sports have average GPAs well below those of non-athletes, often substantially so. Source: "The Game of Life" (by former Princeton president)

Recommended read about Stevens Point: https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Keepers-Unlikely-Unforgettable-Season/dp/1940056314

Poor school districts have kids looking for the easy/fun way out. So lots of poor districts do well in sports that offer high incomes to pros (basketball, football and soccer)

I've coached club, public schools and private schools. The best programs have highly engaged parents and healthy community backing. Coaches need to build programs (youth development, parent and student body relationships, etc.) not not just coach. Parents need to have the time and inclination to be involved. That's a heavy lift in a public school setting.

Steven's Point has produced some really good runners for some reason. Suzy Favor-Hamilton, Chris Solinsky, and Roisin Willis are all from there and have a combined 18 NCAA titles. Reigning NBA champion Sam Hauser is also from Stevens Point.