In September 2015, Newport News State Park will play host to the 29th Annual Newport News Invitational (NNI) Cross Country Meet. This annual event, typically contested during the first Saturday in September, draws over 40 participating public and private high schools from around the state and brings more than 1,000 runners onto the park’s 5-kilometer (metric equivalent of 3.1-miles) layout. With such participation, NNI is one of Virginia’s largest invitational cross-country events and characteristically marks the kick-off of the participating schools’ season.
The NNI gives athletes an opportunity to compete at a level they and their coaches deem appropriate, by offering three descending levels of varsity races (A, B, or C) and a junior varsity category too. It also awards trophies to the top three scoring teams in all varsity races, medals to the top seven runners of the first and second place varsity teams, and medals to the top 15 individuals in all races. Moreover, the grass, gravel, and paved road course is challenging and has showcased many of the state’s best distance runners. For example, in 2001, Matt Keally, Ocean Lakes High School, Virginia Beach, recorded the fastest boys’ time, covering the course in 15 minutes 19 seconds. While in 2004, Aurora Scott, then a freshman at Western Branch High School, Chesapeake, sat the bar for girls with a time of 18 minutes 9 seconds.
Since NNI’s inception, former-Newport News City Schools’ coach and -Woodside High School Athletic Director, Albert E. “Al” Dorner, served as the meet’s director. Coach Dorner actually established NNI based upon the concept of the City of Newport News’ spring track and field season’s annual opener, the Conn-Madden Relays. Despite, as most who knows him would quip, his being retired “on paper,” Coach Dorner has remained a welcomed figure at each NNI since; most appreciatively still there to ensure the meet’s success while transitioning the helm. He has dedicated near 15-years as athletic director at Woodside, and a combined 36 years spent in City of Newport News athletics, building and shaping lives through a shared love of sports. Story by Butch Gordon
Meet Results