The High School Cross Country National Championships ("XC Championships"), formerly known as the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships and now the Brooks XC Championships, is a series of annual cross country running races held in various regions of the United States to determine the premier cross country runner in various age groups, but mainly served to find the best prep (high school) cross country athlete in the country. The event began in 1979 by the F. W. Woolworth Company, which initially branded it as the Kinney Cross Country Championships, (for the Kinney Shoes division) at Morley Field Sports Complex in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, before Woolworth rebranded the event in 1993 to the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships for Woolworth's sporting goods company. For most people associated with the sport, the name was just shortened to Foot Locker or even abbreviated in agate results as FL (the ticker symbol of the company today). In 2021 the event was rebranded as the Eastbay Cross Country Championships and then again as the Champs Sports XC Championships in 2022 after the Foot Locker owned company, only to return to the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2023. The event is the longest-running national cross country race for high school students. On August 21, 2025, it was announced the series would be no longer be supported and hosted by Foot Locker. Days later on August 29, 2025, Brooks and Fleet Feet announced that they would be continuing the series under a new name and sponsorship. On December 13, 2025, the first Brooks XC Championships national event was held in Balboa Park.
Regional championships
Annually there were a total of four regional championship races (usually in late November), that lead up to the XC Championships in San Diego in December.
Northeast Regional Championships
The Northeast Region, now the Northeast XC Championships, comprised most of the states in New England (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont) plus Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. After being held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York for its first 30 years, in 2009 it moved to Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park, Long Island, before moving back to Van Cortlandt Park in 2012. In 2023 the event moved to Franklin Park in Boston, MA, and in 2026 it moved to Holmdel Park in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Midwest Regional Championships
The Midwest Region, now the Midwest XC Championships, comprised the heartland states and was once the largest region in the series, which has states including: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Michigan. This event is held at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside yearly in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
South Regional Championships
The South Region, now the South XC Championships, was made up of states in the southern and southeastern United States including: Florida, Texas, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Louisiana. The South Region event is held annually at the Larry McAfee Cross Country Course in Charlotte, North Carolina, located within McAlpine Creek Park.
West Regional Championships
The West Region, now the West XC Championships, was considered by many to be the most potent region with the most runners appearing at the XC Championships. States included in the west: California, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Wyoming, and Overseas Military. This regional race is generally conducted at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California and is generally a week later than the other three regional races.
National Championship
The XC Championship was held annually in San Diego's Balboa Park (though it has been held in Orlando, Florida on seven occasions), just as it started in 1979. A total of 40 elite cross country runners raced 5 kilometers (3.1mi), for superiority in both individual and regional standings. The top ten runners from each region were invited to the national championship in San Diego, with each region also sending two alternates. From 1981–2004, the race had 32 runners, with each region sending eight. In 1979–1980, there were 35 runners from five regions. Starting in 2025, Brooks and Fleet Feet introduced "Golden Ticket" qualifiers to the XC Championships, which brought the total runners (including the 10 qualifiers from each region) to the best 50 boys and 50 girls.
Race divisions
The number of divisions vastly differs on the region, however there are races set aside for specific age groups and sometimes one or two open events for athletes not in high school (parents, fans, supporters) to compete in.
Common regional divisions
Seeded/Championship Girls
Seeded/Championship Boys
Freshman Girls
Freshman Boys
Sophomore Girls
Sophomore Boys
Junior Girls
Junior Boys
Senior Girls
Senior Boys
Additional regional divisions (may vary annually between regions)
Open races for both boys and girls
Masters for both men and women
7th and 8th grade
Ages 10 and under
Ages 11 and 12
Ages 13 and 14
Courses
The XC Championships started off as a small event in San Diego, California in 1979. The races moved to Orlando for the 1981 and 1982 national championships, but quickly was moved back to Balboa Park in San Diego in 1983. Additional races run in Orlando were held in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001, before returning back to Balboa Park again in 2002.
Orlando, Florida
The Orlando course was extremely flat, but deceivingly slow in terms of runners' times. Patches of grass and sand were scattered throughout the flat, 5,000m course.
Balboa Park in San Diego has served as the most frequent venue for the national championships. The course is winded in a figure-8 fashion through the Morley Field portion of the nearly 5km2 (1.9sqmi) park. There is no shortage of hills and mounds, which makes this course the definitive cross country course. (Although the San Diego venue has always been Balboa Park, the XC Championships in 1979 and 1980 were run on a course other than Morley Field—a course on the western edge of Balboa Park.)
All-Time Balboa Park San Diego/CA Cross Country Championships Record—Boys:Reuben Reina, 14:36, 1985
All-Time Balboa Park San Diego/CA Cross Country Championships Record—Girls:Melody Fairchild, 16:39, 1990
Past results
In addition to a national champion being crowned in each gender division, the top 15 finishers in each gender division receive All-American honors and an overall team champion were declared based on which region had won the meet.
There have only been a total of six girls and five boys who have repeated as national champions. None have been national champions three times at the XC Championships.
Boys with two national championships
Grant Fisher won in 2013 and 2014
Edward Cheserek won in 2011 and 2012.
Lukas Verzbicas won in 2009 and 2010.
Dathan Ritzenhein won in 1999 and 2000.
Abdirizak Mohamud won in 1996 and 1997.
Girls with two national championships
Elizabeth Leachman won in 2023 and 2024
Claudia Lane won in 2016 and 2017.
Anna Rohrer won in 2012 and 2014.
Jordan Hasay won in 2005 and 2008.
Erin Sullivan won in 1997 and 1998.
Melody Fairchild won in 1989 and 1990.
Erin Keogh won in 1985 and 1986.
National Champions to win NCAA titles
There have been a total of sixteen National Champions to win NCAA Titles in Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, or Outdoor Track and Field, including eleven men and five women.
