Nutrition Speaker- RSVP requested

We are very excited to present a wonderful opportunity for both athletes and parents:

Nutritional presentation on Wednesday, October 4 at 7PM at the USC High School Cafeteria.

  🍎🍞🧀🍕🍦🍪🍫🍇🍐🍿🌯🍗 

So that we can get a rough head count, please RSVP to this VERY quick Google form

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JT8vwUeyy2__ebAF6BreykfGec64DpnN-86qzTArSrc/edit

Heather Mangieri, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN is a nationally recognized expert in Nutrition, Wellness & Human Performance, a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist (RDN), a board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) and the author of Fueling Young Athletes (Human Kinetics, 2017.)  She has over 21 years of professional experience in Wellness, Sports Nutrition/Adolescent Sports Nutrition and Disordered Eating. Her company, Heather Mangieri Nutrition, provides food and nutrition counseling, consulting and communication services.  Heather is passionate about translating nutrition science into practical, easy-to-understand messages that resonate with consumers. Heather is an athlete, a runner, and a parent, and the USCHSXC Board is excited to bring her in to speak to our team.  You can find out more about Heather here: https://heathermangieri.com/

Last section meet details

Next Week we have our last Section Meet of the Season

Here are the current details…

TUES 10/3 vs. Canon Mac & South Fayette

  • NEW LOCATION= NOT AT HIGH SCHOOL.

NEW LOCATION IS Fairview Park in South Fayette Township.

Address:  Fairview Park, 288 Recreation Rd, Bridgeville, PA 15017

The Rotary Pavilion at the far end of the park will be used as our main meeting point.

  • STUDENTS OUT at 1:10pm
  • TWO BUSES LEAVE 1:30pm
  • We should arrive at 2pm to do a walk through on NEW COURSE (see map)
  • Boys scheduled to race 3:30pm
  • Girls scheduled to race 4:00pm

Here is a GPS link to the course map

The course consists of 2, slightly different loops.  It is exclusively on grass with two road crossings that occur on each loop.

FYI – The course runs through an “off leash” dog area during each loop.  The park is still open to the public during our meets, however, the dog area is not typically busy during that time.

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Photos, Pasta, Nutrition, and Tacos

Great job by our athletes at the meet yesterday. Results can be found here: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/232003/info

Thanks to Brian Hayes and Gail Groninger for photos. 📷 Here’s link to meet at White Oak. https://albums.memento.com/q/65137c2658df9d423049111a Here’s link to Peterswood meet. https://albums.memento.com/q/650a11e141fe4e4bb8e712ca

Thanks to all those who have contributed to pasta dinners so far.  🍝 Please see the the link for additional slots: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080845a4aa2da7ff2-2023#/

We are very excited to present a wonderful opportunity for both athletes and parents- please mark your calendars to attend a nutritional presentation on Wednesday, October 4 at 7PM at the USC High School Cafeteria.  🍎🍞🧀🍕🍦🍪🍫🍇🍐🍿🌯🍗 

Heather Mangieri, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN is a nationally recognized expert in Nutrition, Wellness & Human Performance, a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist (RDN), a board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) and the author of Fueling Young Athletes (Human Kinetics, 2017.)  She has over 21 years of professional experience in Wellness, Sports Nutrition/Adolescent Sports Nutrition and Disordered Eating. Her company, Heather Mangieri Nutrition, provides food and nutrition counseling, consulting and communication services.  Heather is passionate about translating nutrition science into practical, easy-to-understand messages that resonate with consumers. Heather is an athlete, a runner, and a parent, and the USCHSXC Board is excited to bring her in to speak to our team.  

Our Moe’s Taco Kit Fundraiser 🌮🌮🌮🌮is scheduled for Tuesday October 10.  All YOU need to do is send the link below to anyone local you know and/or post on social media. You don’t have take orders or collect money or deliver ANYTHING!!!!! Instead, Orders are placed online and paid for via a Moe’s link (below). Deadline for orders is Sunday October 8th at 12pm (NOON), but kits may sell out sooner.  Orders will be delivered to the High School Parking Lot for pick up between 4:30- 5:30pm . Moe’s will remind everyone who placed an order to pick them up. Thats it!

Click the link below and order your Taco Kit online! Please share the link with your neighbors and offer to pick up their dinner for them! 

https://form.jotform.com/232505414578154

FYI: If someone receives a “Location ID Error” after entering their credit card number, it’s an issue with their browser settings, and they can either try ordering on a different device or contact our catering team at catering@bigplangrp.com with their phone number and someone will call them directly to place the order.

Updates week of 9/24

MON 09/25/23 Pasta Dinner Wherry Home 6-7:30 PM. At last check we just need one more slot for pasta. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080845a4aa2da7ff2-2023#/

For our meet Tuesday 9/26/23 at White Oak Park (same site/course as Red White and Blue): We are taking separate buses at 2 different times due to driver shortage. 

Bus 1= kids out at 1:10pm. Leaves 1:30pm

Bus 2= kids out at 1:30pm. Leaves 1:50pm

Coaches will sort out who rides which one at practice Monday . Team will walk course once all USC athletes arrive Girls race 4pm.  Guys schedules to race after4:45pm. USC will score against Bethel& Baldwin only.  South Park, California, & Serra will be in race but won’t score against USC . Additionally if any athlete wishes to ride home with their parent & has a note, we are encouraging that as we will only have 1 return bus.

Updates for week of 9/17

1. Pasta dinner at Ginsburg home Monday 9/18, 2433 Kings La, 6-7:30 PM.  Thanks to those who have signed up to bring food/drinks, please make sure those items arrive by 6:00 PM.

2. Tuesday 9/19 vs. Lebo and Peters at Peterswood Park.  Students dismissed at 1:30 PM, Bus leaves 1:50 PM, Course walk 2:30 PM, Captains meeting 3:35 PM, Boys race 3:45 PM, Girls Race 4:15 PM. 

3. Locker signs have arrived, they should be placed on each student’s locker.  Ask your kid to take a picture! As a reminder, we do suggest that all students bring a lock for their locker.  

4. Save the Date for the evening of Wednesday October 4- speaker on running and nutrition- for athletes and parents.

5. Team store is open until 9/21 at midnight 

Home Meet!

Congrats to all athletes for lots of PRs and strong performances at the Red White and Blue!  And thanks to all who assisted with a fun Family Pasta Dinner!

  • We’ve chosen to use Memento photo sharing this year to view, download, upload and share photos from all the meets.  Parents/athletes may login to the Memento photo sharing website and create an account to be able to view, download, upload and share photos.  Link to the Marty Uher meet at Cal U on 09/02/23.  https://albums.memento.com/q/64fe37675b6624cd88acce4a Here’s the link to the Red White & Blue Classic. https://albums.memento.com/q/64fe697732e7c5ef1ff8d044
  • Monday 9/11 TeamStore sale 2 will open 
  • Monday 9/11 pasta dinner at the Mack home, 130 Saxony Dr.  Thanks to the Macks for a special treat- an airbrush tattoo artist! Don’t be late- 6:00-7:30 PM
  • Tuesday 9/12 home section meet & informal senior Rec. Please email Coach Petrick if you can assist with the meet (on the course, scoring help, etc).
  • 2:40pm- BUS TIME for USC athletes to be transported to the Rec Center for drop off. 
  • 3:15PM- Starter will review PIAA sportsmanship
  • 3:30pm- SENIOR REC at front fields with entire USC team.
  • 3:55pm- Girls line up
  • 4pm- Girls race start
  • 4:30pm (or after all girls finish race)- Boys line up
  • 4:35pm-   Starter will fire gun roughly 4:35pm to start boys race.
  • 5:05pm-  Tentatively 5:05pm all boys will have finished the race. Then the USC Coaches will finish scoring races.  Tentatively 5:20pm meet ends after all parties have OK’d and signed off on the scores, results will be made official by Starter.

Our USCXC Home Course Records are…Sawyer Weinmann (2022): 15:58.5 Jaclyn Martinelli (2021): 19:14.2

CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ARRIVAL TIME, SCHEDULE OF RACES, ETC.
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO ACCESS OUR HOME COURSE MAP & DIRECTION (USC course was revised 2021)

Thursday 9/14- we will kids do workout ON THEIR OWN with details to follow, preferably on soft surface of trails.  Lifting will be available per usual 5-5:30pm

Saturday 9/16 short 30-40min shakeout run at USC rec center. 8:30am-9:30am.

Milesplit, Red White Blue, Family Pasta Dinner, Home Meet, and HOF, Oh My!

This is a busy week with a quick turnaround time between meets, so we have a second update this week with several items: Milesplit, Red White Blue, Family Pasta Dinner, Home Meet, and USCHSXC alumni Hall of Fame induction! Read through to the end! 

1. If you watched the boys’ race on Saturday, you watched the leading vote-getter in the Milesplit USA National Boys Performer of the Week poll!  It wasn’t your imagination, that kid was really fast! Check out the link here and vote for Drew Griffith of Butler so you can say your kid ran in the same race as the national winner, and you’ll have a chance to win a Milesplit Pro subscription. Plus, one of the other 5 nominees is Ryan Pajak of Ringgold, who we’ll see coming up a couple of times this season.  So it’s no exaggeration to say that some of the top talent in the whole country is right here in our own backyard of the WPIAL. https://www.milesplit.com/articles/338225/national-boys-performer-of-the-week-0828-0903
2. Red White Blue Classic Saturday 9/9/23 at White Oak Park No doubt there’s going to be some amazing performances at RWB, likely including the 2 boys from above plus some other great talent.  This is a really big, really fun meet, with a nice course to watch, some shade, and the hill isn’t nearly as bad!  The course is a loop, completed twice, runners go to the right at the end of loop 1, and veer to the left and the end of loop 2 for the finish.  Video of course can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bST3XlvEtB4 and a course map here: https://pa.milesplit.com/meets/557133-21st-annual-red-white-and-blue-classic-2023
Athletes should arrive at the high school athletic circle around 6:15am, depart at 6:20am on two buses.
Once we arrive we will explain the course, there is not much time to walk the course since races will begin early, so it’s helpful to preview the map/video.
The coaches will announce this week the lineup for the various races (Varsity/JV/Freshmen).
Race times are on a ROLLING SCHEDULE, so times could end up being EARLIER than listed below….
7:30 coaches meeting at start line.
8am AA girls  8 runners max – NOT a USC Race
8:45 AA boys 8 runners max – NOT a USC Race
9:30 all JV Girls top 25 awards
10:15 all Freshman top 25 awards boys and girls each.
11:00 all jv boys top 25 awards
11:45 AAA girls 8 runners max
12:30 AAA boys 8 runners max
1:15 awards

3. Before the athletes race, they need to fuel up with a pasta party! Family Pasta Dinner at the MAC (old rec center on McLaughlin Run Rd.) 6-9 PM FRiday 9/8.  All athletes and all parents/siblings invited to the dinner.  Thanks to those who signed up to bring food/assist.  The students also will be making senior signs after the dinner, and a few parents will be needed to supervise/assist.  

4. Our Home Meet will be sneaking right up on us! Athlete pasta dinner Monday 9/11 at 6PM-7:30 at the Mack Home, 130 Saxony Dr.  As a special treat there will be an airbrush tattoo artist, so arrive promptly! 

USC/Trinity/Moon section meet is scheduled for TUES 9/12/23 at the USC Community & Recreation Center at Boyce Mayview Park,1551 Mayview Rd.

2:40pm?- BUS TIME for USC athletes to be transported to the Rec Center for drop off.  Based on transportation needs this time may change.
3:15PM- Visiting teams walk through should be completed around 3:15pm- Starter will review PIAA sportsmanship with teams
3:30pm- SENIOR REC at front fields with entire USC team.  This part of senior rec just involves reading of athlete names and a picture opportunity with signs/banners.  (More senior rec to be held at pasta dinner in October). 
4pm- GIRLS race. (lineup 3:55 PM) 
4:30pm- BOYS lineup, starting gun at 4:35 or after conclusion of Girls.  

Several parents will be needed to assist on meet day, either as course monitors, start/finish line help, scoring table, etc.  Please email Coach Petrick if you can help. 

5. Savannah Shaw, USCTFXC graduate is being inducted into the USC Athletics HOF on 9/14.  Savannah graduated in 2018 and received numerous accolades in XC/Track during her time at USC.  She went on to be a key part of the NCAA National Champion NC State Women’s XC team. 

Week of 9/4

Congratulations to all our athletes for competing on Saturday, especially those who completed their very first race! It was a tough course in hot conditions, so well done to all athletes! And you will be amazed how much stronger you get over the season!

No practice today! Run on your own- see SportsYou for communications from coaches.

Both the Girls and Boys teams finished 3rd overall at Marty Uher Invitational on Saturday 9/2.  Meredith Rhodes won the race with a time of 19:42.  In addition, Lydia Rhodes medaled with her 5th place finish and McKenzey Mack, Olivia Gray, and Ella Unice contributed to the score for the ladies.  Caleb Guarino led the boys to their third-place trophy with his 13th-place finish, followed by medal winners  Andrew Hess (15th) and Ryan Arya (19th).  Johnny Unice and Nolan Sarkett were point scorers as well.   

Full results:

https://pa.milesplit.com/meets/561130-51st-marty-uher-vulcans-invitational-2023/teams/2886

Race videos and photos can be seen at this link as well. Make sure you check out Meredith’s post-race champion interview!! https://pa.milesplit.com/meets/561130-51st-marty-uher-vulcans-invitational-2023

Friday 9/8 is our Family Pasta Dinner- all athletes and all families are invited! This is a great way to get to know other families, and the athletes will be making senior signs as well! Details and sign-ups are at the link here. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080845a4aa2da7ff2-2023#/

Don’t stay out late because Saturday is an early one! Coaches will be giving more details to the athletes but here are the highlights.

Red White Blue Invite Sat 9/9/23 White Oak Park

9:30 jv girls

10:15 all freshman 

11 jv boys

11:45 girls max 8

12:30 boys max 8

Bus 6:20 AM

Race Page with location, map, entries, etc:

https://pa.milesplit.com/meets/557133-21st-annual-red-white-and-blue-classic-2023

Reminders for this week

Today is picture day! All athletes should have their uniform with them today!

Other items that are easy to overlook that we have been asked to remind you of:

  1. Athletic fee registration is due to the school https://uscsdathletics.com/main/otherad/contentID/55470862
  2. Please complete Team Rules signoff https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOYgskUHyq8LfNikwcReknYStYw9UMyQ26XdAbsv8ADCUq1Q/viewform
  3. Please download the Sports You app (parents and athletes) https://usccrosscountry.com/sportsyou-instructions/

Opening Week 8/27

It’s opening week!

First, a big thank you to all the student athletes and parents who helped out on Saturday for the car wash.  Thanks to everyone’s efforts and the great weather, we have a new record total: $1300.41! 

Before we get to the meet, a few things this week: 

1. Team store closes tomorrow! 👕 https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/5DEB1fCBs5

2. Locker signs have been ordered.  We hope to have them in a couple weeks.  Reminder, we do suggest that each student bring a lock  🔓 Some snacks have been provided by the boosters for the team in the locker room 🍫 but please remind students to throw away their wrappers 🚮 and keep the locker rooms in good condition. 

3.. Picture Day 📷 on Wednesday at 3:05, all athletes should wear their uniform and get their picture taken.  M& M will be taking everyone’s picture and parents will be able to see proofs before they are ordered.  

4. Pasta Dinner on Friday 9/1 !! 🍝  Rhodes Home, 2527 Appletree Dr., 6-8:30 PM

These are always beloved by the students.  Please see the signups to bring pasta, bread, salad, etc. https://usccrosscountry.com/volunteer/

5. Don’t forget to get a car rider note 📰 stamped in athletics and turned in to coaches if you want to drive your child home from any meet.  

Now for the meet! 

Penn West (Cal U)- SAT 9/2/23 @ Roadman Park (near Adamson Stadium- NOT on campus)

Athletes should arrive to Athletics Circle at HS @ 7:45am

2 Buses will depart for Roadman Park @ 8:05am

Once we get there, set up tent, walk parts of the course.

9:00 a.m. – Middle School Girls

9:40 a.m. – Middle School Boys

10:20 a.m. – High School Girls’ Fire 5k (A & AA schools)

11:00 a.m. – High School Boys’ Fire 5k (A & AA schools)

11:40 a.m. – High School Girls’ Steel 5k (AAA schools)

12:20 p.m. – High School Boys’ Steel 5k (AAA schools)

awards probably 1pm?- Top 3 teams get awards; Top 25 individuals in each race get awards 

USC is running the STEEL Races- there is NO JV or Varsity, so all USC boys run in the same AAA race & all USC girls run in the same AAA race.

Meet information can be found here, and results will also be at this link after the meet:https://pa.milesplit.com/meets/561130-51st-marty-uher-vulcans-invitational-2023 

We may get back to HS around 2-3pm. 

Cal U course map can be found here.  It’s a good idea for new runners to preview the course map. (Also helpful for parents coming to watch!)

https://calvulcans.com/sports/2022/7/22/XC2022HomeMeetInfo.aspx

New runners and families, this week is a good time to review the links 

Coaches instructions: 

  • Arrive ON TIME to the High School.
  • Bring money for shirt purchase if you wish to do so.
  • Have food/drinks, but bring money if you want to purchase food at meet- typically choices are not appropriate before the race, but fine for after the race.
  • DONT bring valuable items.  If you have something of value (like a phone) put it in your bag hidden, inside the tent.
  • Hydrate and fuel appropriately.
  • Listen on the walkthrough or course explanation from coaches- there’s LOTS of teams/athletes around so it’s easy to get distracted.
  • Coaches will distribute timing bibs/chips at a designated time/location in advance of all races. Bibs you can keep but timing chips must be returned after the race.  Timing companies issue fines when timing chips are NOT returned at end of race.
  • Have a pair of shoes/socks to walk the course, and a 2nd pair of shoes/spikes and socks to race, and flip flops/slides to wear post race.
  • Wear your uniform that was given to you in the race.  Anything not given to you by coaches MUST be approved by us or starter won’t let you race.
  • If you are leaving with a parent at the meet, you MUST check out with a Coach.  This helps speed up exit of the meet for the entire team.  Don’t tell another athlete you are leaving, see a coach to do this.  Plus you must have a parent/administrator signed note given to the coaches.

Go Panthers!