Sports

By Tom Robinson
Go Lackawanna sports correspondent

HERSHEY – District 2 will be looking for a new home for its cross country championships.

Bill King, a district committee member who serves as chairman for cross country, said Saturday at the state championships that he has been informed by Scranton Municipal Golf Course pro Ed Cimoch that the event cannot be held there next year.

District 2 held its varsity and junior high championships in one long, muddy day on the course October 28. Hundreds of runners circling the course twice in wet, late-season conditions does damage to some of the fairways, but King said there were also other issues.

Parking is difficult around the course and on adjacent roads. Scranton Municipal’s only chance to earn any money while risking damage to its course comes from restaurant sales. The growing tradition of teams and fans bringing their own tents, coolers, grills, etc. and setting them up around the course has caused a yearly reduction in sales.

“We need to find a place with good parking and a grass area similar to what the kids are going to run on at states,” said King, who wants to avoid any road courses because the state meet is held at Parkview Golf Course. “That’s not easy to find in our area, at least, unless somebody wants to let us on a golf course.”

Prior to the 2001 move to Scranton Municipal in Mount Cobb, District 2 cross country championships had been held at Frances Slocum State Park in Wyoming, Kirby Park and McDade Park in Scranton.

King said Elk Lake has expressed some interest in hosting in the past. Lakeland has hosted junior high championships.

Parking and room for the tents, in addition to a wide enough starting area, are all part of the equation.

“Cross country has changed,” said King, a four-time national qualifier and a member of the 1981 national championship team while at Millersville University. “We’d be stretching under a tree.

“Now, they all have elaborate tents. It’s great for the kids. I would have loved to have tents to stretch in.”