Our History

Portage Invitational (PI) was created in 1998 by the high school cross country coaches of Portage Northern, Bill Fries, and Portage Central, John Henning. Both Bill and John are former collegiate athletes and teachers. They envisioned a different type of cross country meet that brought the best teams together to compete and at the same time support the student/athletes, coaches and parents in ways that had never been done before in high school meets.

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The Portage Invite is a 501(c)(3) that partners with Portage Public Schools to present the meet. We exist to support the physical, mental, social, and emotional development of youth through the sport of cross-country. The PI is more than a competition, although there is a lot of that; it is a day-long celebration of individual discipline, teamwork, belonging, well-being, and fun for the 10,000+ middle school and high school student-athletes, coaches, parents, spectators, and volunteers.