About us
Lake Cities Cross Country is a 501c (3) organization dedicated to developing youth runners girls and boys from 7 thru 14 years of age    (3rd thru 8th grades)  of all ability levels who want to develop to be the best runner they can be!


Our mission is to prepare youth distance runners for high school competition and beyond. Many of our graduates join their respective high school teams as one of their top 7 runners. A typical Lake Cities graduate will be well versed in individual race performance, race strategies for both xc and track, aerobic and anaerobic training, interval work, heart rate fitness, hydration and nutrition, sportsmanship, team concepts, mental preparation and mental toughness, distance runner specific strength training, negative splitting and more. Most, if not all, will have competed at the national level against the very best youth runners in America. They will have experienced a variety of races … 800m thru 3200m on the track, 3200m in cross country, 5000m and 10000m road races. Stepping up to the starting line for their first high school 5K xc race will still be nerve-wracking for a Lake Cities grad … but only until the gun announces the start of the race. With multiple 5K races in their past, the distance isn’t intimidating … many have been running them since they were 8 years old.


For more information about Lake Cities XC, visit our website at www.lakecitiesxc.org or contact Head Coach Brad Lutz directly at coachlutzxc@gmail.com, or 214-244-3271.

Lake Cities XC Results

Since our start in the fall of 2004, Lake Cities XC has produced 26 top  national teams, including the 2009 and 2018 AAU 13-14 boy’s national championship teams. Also in 2009, Lake Cities placed three other teams in the top 3 nationally, 11-12 boys were 2nd, 13-14 girls were 3rd, and the 11-12 girls also finished 3rd. In 2011, Lake Cities placed three teams in the top 4 … our 9-10 boys finished 2nd nationally, the 13-14 girls finished 3rd nationally and the 13-14 boys finished 4th nationally.  In 2016, at the AAU Cross Country National Championships, the 13-14 boys placed 2nd, the 13-14 girls placed 4th and the 11-12 boys also took 4th.  Eight runners were awarded All-American status by finishing in the top 8 overall in their respective age group.

In 2017, the team traveled to Charlotte, NC and raced at the AAU XC National Championships at the Foot Locker South course.  The 13-14 boys finished 2nd nationally, while Riley Nedrow took 1st place honors in the 12 year old age group and his teammate, Brayden Kennedy took 2nd place ... both Riley and Brayden broke the 3K course record.  Five Lake Cities runners took home All-American honors ... Riley Nedrow, Brayden Kennedy, Aiden Lyons, Nick Anderson and Jaden Elgin.

In 2018, the 13-14 boys team took first place in Knoxville, TN in a mud bath of a race on a very slick course, where rain had fallen for nearly a week before race day.  The 11-12 girls team missed the podium by 4 points, finishing 4th nationally and turning in a very strong performance.  On the individual side, Bryan Hailey claimed the 11 boys national championship race. 

Lake Cities XC runners have reached the individual honor of Junior Olympic All-American status 82 times.

Including the November, 2020 NLI signing day, between Lake Cities XC alums and Lutz Running alums ... 207 runners have have now signed National Letters of Intent and have continued their running careers at their respective colleges and universities.

Lake Cities XC began in 2004 with 7 runners that had finished summer track and wanted to continue distance running year round. 

We train year round, with three specific seasons with periodized breaks in-between.

Spring
​In the spring, focus is on longer distance runs with athletes competing in 5K and 10K road races. 10K runners must be approved by Coach Lutz prior to the start of training. The spring season begins in early January and runs through the end of April.  In addition, we prepare our middle school runners for their respective track seasons ... from 800m thru 3200m races.  Lake Cities is proud to have developed a large number of Middle School District Champions from all around the DFW Metroplex.

Summer
​Summer training focuses first and foremost on mileage build for the fall. How hard a xc team works in the summer is directly related to how well it competes in the fall, especially in November and December, when the most important races are held. We also compete at the national level, thru the AAU National Club Championships in Orlando in July, the AAU Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships and the USATF Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships.  We primarily focus on the 800m, 1500m and 3000m distances on the track.  We also compete in two or three road races during the summer so that runners not competing on the track can keep track of their progress. The summer season begins in early May and runs thru the end of July.  National Championship runners will start a bit later as their championship races are generally the first week of August.

Fall
​Fall is our busiest and longest competition season. We race in several middle school xc meets, a couple of specific road races and then either the AAU or USATF Junior Olympic XC National Championships. A heavy emphasis on team strategy and teamwork exists throughout the season. In addition to the national championship races, our 7th and 8th grade runners compete in the Nike South Middle School XC Championships, held in The Woodlands. The fall season runs from early-August thru mid-December.