I'm a coach whose team has been affected by this thoughtless decision. One of the guys on our 4x4 relays is a senior who was going to be competing in his first and only state meet...one of those hard working, grind it out, not a lot of talent type kids that just sees some results after 4 years of work...now he's a low 52' guy (59' freshman year).
He got robbed.
Each kid who didn't compete has a story...maybe they were going for a school record...maybe it was a chance to redeem a poor performance from earlier...maybe it was a chance to score points for your team and get a trophy your school never achieved.
I just can't believe they'd do it; "suspend" and "cancel" are two totally different things. That federal bylaw cited does NOT give the KHSAA the authority to chop the end of the meet off. They got it wrong and I hope someone in the KHSAA (Mr. Tackett?!) has some hell to pay from his higher-ups for reneging on his fundamental obligation to serve the young athletes of Kentucky.
I am profoundly disappointed, angered, stupefied, and bewildered at the callousness and laziness of the choice. It's terrible.