Once again, I left the State Cross Country Meet with a feeling of disappointment (which is odd considering the team I help coach won a State Title). The disappointment always starts before the meet when I look around and notice the teams and individuals that aren't there. This year, at the very least Braxton's boys team and Ritchie's girls team should have been competing at the State Meet. Both teams were ranked 4th in the State. In all, 11 teams that were ranked in the top 10 were not able to compete as a team in the State Meet while 9 unranked teams were able to compete. Shouldn't the goal be to get all the best teams to the State Meet? We continually are treated to a watered down State Meet because of the current regional system that does not permit all the best teams to compete. Highly ranked individuals that compete in strong regions are frequently left home as well. I have to believe that if you are one of the top 40 runners in your class, you should be at the State Meet. This year's top 40 ranked runners (after regionals but before the State Meet) that got the shaft included East Fairmont's Emily Swiger, Hedgesville's Christy Ashley, Bridgeport's Jenna Fogg, Philip Barbour's Hillary Brown, Ritchie's Sam Crouch, Herbert Hoover's Carrie Burdette, Musselman's Matt Rouzer, Hurricane's Bobby Johnson, St. Albans' Casey Fuller, Buckhannon-Upshur's Mark Wilfong, Poca's Matt Null, Charleston Catholic's Jamie Blair, Winfield's J.D. Love, and Braxton's James Adams.
My disappointment was once again compounded this year by some events, rules, and judges decisions. Last year, two young ladies from Greenbrier West were disqualified for holding hands as they crossed the finish line. The rule was that it was unsportsmanlike conduct. Anyone watching the race knows that these two girls were not taunting anyone. They just wanted to finish their season together. This year was at least as bad. Two young men from Webster County were denied the right to compete because their coach didn't show up. Seth Hampton and Patrick Bolling were punished due to their coach. These two kids did nothing wrong. The coach, I'm sure will go through unscathed other than feeling bad. The kids meanwhile were denied the right to compete. The coach was the problem, the kids get the punishment. Two more young men from Liberty Harrison were disqualified for not wearing a number. It turns out that the numbers were tucked inside the complimentary program in the team's packet. The coach did not find them. Josh Wagner was the 6th runner to cross the finish line, earning an All-State Award. John Natow was the 15th runner to cross the line, an outstanding performance for him as well. The ruling was that no number means you weren't in the race. Yes, the kids should have known that they'd need a number. The coach should have known they'd need a number. However, running without a number does not give someone a competitive advantage. They didn't cut the course. They didn't knock someone out of the way with their elbows. They didn't have pacers running along beside them. They were not under the influence of performance enhancing drugs. They just ran the race. In this case, the athlete is punished in part due to an error by the coach, but more than that, the athlete is punished for a rule that really doesn't serve much of a purpose. Meet efficiency should should not take precedence over the kids, and that is the only thing that this rule accomplishes. Due to this rule, placing efficiency over the athlete, Josh Wagner was not permitted to stand with his fellow All-State competitors. He will never receive a plaque with the words "All-State" on it. John Natow walks away from his first Cross Country season wondering if it was worth it.
How did any of the above decisions benefit the kids? The WVSSAC is supposed to look out for the best interests of the kids. Why hasn't it? After all, aren't all high school athletics supposed to be about the kids.