Scholarships for Cross Country Runners
Is Your Bank Account Running on Empty?
If you spent quite a bit of your high school years being a part of a cross country running team, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that there are some scholarship possibilities available to you.
Here, we'll look at a few of the more notable ones; however, it will behoove you to ask your university or college of choice if general athletic scholarships are offered. If they are, you may be able to turn your cross-country accomplishments into funds to pay for your education.
State Specific
Alaska
In Fairbanks, Alaska, the Midnight Sun Run Scholarship program offers approximately five $1,000 scholarships to Fairbanks area high school seniors who have excelled both academically (at least a 3.0 GPA is required) and athletically.
Delaware
Cross country running students from schools which are approved New Castle Country Cross Country and Track Coaches Association members are eligible for the Delaware Open Cross Country Championship Scholarship. Two $1,500 are available, one for a male and one for a female. A high school GPA of 2.5 must be maintained; additionally, applicants must have received acceptance notification for full-time enrollment at a regionally accredited university or college.
Massachusetts
The Sean Patrick French Memorial Scholarship award is given annually to one high school senior male and one high school senior female at Chatham High School. Recipients must be entering a two or four-year college, university, or trade school and must have demonstrated the "positive attributes" that echo the personality of the late student for whom the scholarship has been named. Additionally, there is a separate funding stream available to high school seniors from Columbia County who submit an essay describing how running has prepared them for college life. Award amounts vary each year.
Oregon
The Endowed Scholarship at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon, awards several $1,000 scholarships to Coos County students who have been involved in cross country running. (This running scholarship is named for the late Steve Prefontaine, an internationally-known Olympian from Coos Bay.)
Texas
The Cross Country Club of Dallas, Texas, offers the Tal Morrison Scholarship each year. Applicants must be Dallas area high school students who have participated in their school's running program. However, they are not required to continue their cross country running at the collegiate level.
Vermont
The Green Mountain Athletic Association offers two $500 scholarships to high school seniors from Chittenden County, Middlebury, and St. Albans who have been involved in cross country running during their postsecondary education years. Recipients must also have maintained a B average in school and have shown good citizenship. An essay is required for application.
Institute-Specific
North Carolina
Western Carolina University (WCU) offers two athletic scholarships which can apply to cross country runners:
•The Betty Peele Leadership Fund endowment offers a $500 award every year to a female who demonstrates leadership on and off the field at WCU in a sport that is recognized by the NCAA. (Cross country running is acceptable to the NCAA.) A GPA of 3.0 or above must be maintained.
•The Sue and Jack Wakeley Scholar-Athlete Award provides no less than $250 to one male and one female athlete in either cross country, track, or field. Recipients must have a GPA of at least 3.0 and must have scored Conference meet points.
Pennsylvania
At East Stroudsburg University (ESU), there are three funding streams available to students involved in cross country running:
•The Krawitz Family Scholarship is given to students who are on the ESU cross country or track & field teams, especially if they are majors in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance.
•The Women's Athletic Scholarship is given to a female who is active in any ESU varsity sport.
•The Emma Koehler Smith Scholarship is open to female students at ESU who are also active in any varsity sport.