FSU Pre-State Cross Country Meet Canceled for Tropical Storm Isaias

Pre-State is off. FSU and Visit Tallahassee canceled this weekend's high school Pre-State meet at Apalachee Regional Park on Wednesday, Oct. 7, because of the expected impacts of Tropical Storm Isaias. It will not be rescheduled.

The meet was set for Friday, Oct. 9 (middle school 3K and high school JV) and Saturday, Oct. 10 (the Elite, Select and Varsity A and B races). Race assignments were due to go out to coaches today.

Refunds

• Team entries paid through DirectAthletics will be refunded in full.
• Spectator tickets bought on GoFan will be refunded in full.
• Questions about the meet or refunds go to Taylor Wheaton at Visit Tallahassee, Taylor.Wheaton@VisitTallahassee.com.

Where the storm is

At 1 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Isaias was in the Gulf about 520 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving east-northeast at 8 mph with 50 mph winds, and Hurricane Hunters found it getting stronger. The National Hurricane Center has a hurricane watch from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass and a tropical storm watch from east of Indian Pass to the Aucilla River, the Big Bend coast south of Tallahassee. A storm surge watch runs from the mouth of the Mississippi to Yankeetown.

FSU's notice asks anyone in the Tallahassee area to follow the National Hurricane Center, the National Weather Service and Leon County Emergency Management as the storm gets closer.

What it means for state

Pre-State is the one regular-season meet where most of Florida's top programs race the course they will see in November. The FHSAA state meet is at Apalachee on Friday, Nov. 20, all four classes.

This is the second big fall date at the park to fall through. The varsity races at HOKA Nights of Thunder on Sept. 12 were called for lightning. Only the JV and middle school races finished. Districts 2A-1 and 3A-1 race at Apalachee on Nov. 6. For most other varsity teams, state day will be their first race on the course this fall.

The college FSU XC Invite, set for Friday at the same park, is not named in the notice and was still on FSU's schedule as of Wednesday afternoon.

Looking for a race this weekend? Several Saturday invitationals are still on the Florida cross country meet schedule. The storm could change those plans too, so check with the host before you travel.

Source: FSU / Visit Tallahassee cancellation notice, Oct. 7, 2026; National Hurricane Center Intermediate Advisory 4A on Tropical Storm Isaias. Photo: Apalachee Regional Park entrance sign, by The Bushranger via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.