On October 4, New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba and New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe will welcome the Mayor's Cup Cross Country Championship to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The city's top public, private and parochial high school cross country teams will compete for the coveted Mayor's Cup title. The day's races are set to begin at 10:00am.

"The Mayor's Cup Cross Country Championship has become one of the highlights of the local cross country season," said Commissioner Podziba. "Cross country running is a true test of endurance, dedication and perseverance. All of the athletes from our city's high schools deserve commendation for the sacrifices required to excel at such a physically-demanding sport."

The meet is open to all high school cross country teams that are members of the Public School Athletic League (PSAL), Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) and the Association of Independent Schools (AIS). The day's events will begin with the 1.5-mile freshman boys' and girls' races, followed by the 2.5-mile boys' and girls' Mayor's Cup Championship races featuring teams that finished at the top of their league's standings in 2007 as well as many of this year's top squads. Finally, the 2.5-mile boys' and girls' junior varsity and varsity races will round out the day's events.

"Once again, Parks & Recreation is proud to host the Mayor's Cup Cross Country Championships in Van Cortlandt Park, where cross country is a time-honored tradition dating back one hundred years," said Commissioner Benepe. "The park's steep ridges, undulating hills, and open flats will challenge these talented young athletes to compete at their highest levels. Running is a great way to maintain a healthy life and I encourage all of this year's participants to continue their sport after high school."

St Peter's High School (Staten Island), last years boys' team champions, will be tested by tough squads from Monsignor Farrell HS (Staten Island), McKee/Staten Island Tech and Collegiate (Manhattan). Last years girls' team champions, Tottenville High School (Staten Island), will also be in a struggle to repeat with St. John Villa Academy (Staten Island) and Curtis HS (Staten Island) lurking in the pack.

"We have 84 girls' teams and 86 boys' teams in this year's Mayor's Cup Cross Country Championship and we are expecting a great time to be had by all," said PSAL Track Commissioner Dwayne Burnett.

The city also sponsors Mayor's Cup tournaments in a variety of other sports including: field hockey, wheelchair basketball, table tennis, kayak, baseball, billiards, lacrosse, handball, softball, track & field, chess and wrestling.

For more information about the Mayor's Cup Cross Country Championship and a complete schedule of races, please visit www.psal.org.

Parks & Recreation is the steward of 29,053 acres of land - 14 percent of New York City - including more than 4,000 individual properties ranging from Yankee Stadium and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. Parks operates more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds. The Department manages four major stadia, 550 tennis courts, 61 public pools, 48 recreational facilities, 17 nature centers, 13 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches. Parks cares for 1,200 monuments and 22 historic house museums and looks after 600,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. The Parks Department is New York City's principal providers of athletic facilities and is home to free concerts, world-class sports events and cultural festivals. For more information about Parks, visit our Web site: www.nyc.gov/parks.

The New York City Sports Commission is the mayoral agency charged with attracting, facilitating and promoting professional, amateur and scholastic sports events in New York City. In recent years, the Sports Commission has played a role in creating or developing many new sporting events, including the NFL Kickoff Live from Times Square, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series™ Champions Week, the BMC Software NYC Cycling Championship, the AVP Brooklyn Open, the NAUTICA NYC Triathlon, the NYC Half-Marathon, the Union Square Street Sessions presented by Jeep®, the Wild Onion Urban Adventure Race, and the Men's Health Urbanathlon.