D3 5000 outrage, Ethan Gregg DQ for a false start!

But if you assess the penalty after you would hope he is aware of the infraction or else he might not recognize his need to win by 5 seconds, for example. But if you restart everyone and then have him start 5 seconds after at least he knows what he is dealing with to get the win or whatever.

A distance runner is finally held to the same standard as sprinters and hurdlers and everybody loses it.

It was a clear false start. He was in the 1st position and was anticipating the gun to get out fast and not get stuck on the rail. Harsh but fair.

The real injustice was in the men's hurdle prelims. A guy jumped and they did not call it back. It was fine for the five guys that went along with him, but the two guys who didn't were screwed.

I was there near the start, it seemed like almost every runner on the line was yelling at the official calling to let him run. Ridiculous call for a 5k

I competed in many National meets and I was never at the line where someone false started, or where it was called at least. I also never noticed anyone false starting at the line, admittedly I was focusing on the task at hand. So it is quite unusual in distance races, at least from my own experience.

Can you explain to me what the hell a DQ in the 5k has to do the 4x4 results? Even if Gregg had the race of his life and won LaCrosse still would have lost the team title.

Nobody knew what the lacrosse 4x4 would do at the time Gregg was DQ'ed. But Gregg's DQ mathematical handed the title to MIT. MIT couldn't lose at that point, they could pop the champagne instead of at the least having to sweat it out.

Good idea, maybe can apply to sprinting events too.

Track officials tend to be guys in their late 50s and early 60s on a power trip. I think most of them actually genuinely hate the athletes.

Again, it was a 5000. I’ve seen people stumble or step forward at the line, and the officials just make people reset and start the race. Nobody is false starting to gain an advantage or to “anticipate” the gun. It’s irrelevant. Gregg was one of the favorites, he legitimately might have won the race. His competitors were outraged, the D3 glory day guys were outraged. It was a travesty. Yes, he did false start, but that’s what discretion is all about. If the officials let him race, nobody, no athlete and no coach would have protested. People are reasonable and know this DQ was a joke.

How do you false start in a a national championship 5K? He looked nonchalant about the whole thing and needed more focus. If you passed him through and allowed him to restart, what events do you excuse similar violations and where do you draw the line? Bad precedence. This was not just another race, it was the national championship with team implications and he blew it.

I read the NCAA rule book and to me it reads that the starter has the discretion to cancel the start or recall the start if the gun has sounded and the runners have set off. It is within the rules for the starter to reboot the start process in situations like this and not DQ the athlete. No bad precedent would be set.

Race officials out there, please review the tape and context and weigh in.

I've got a bone to pick with him needing the "race of his life" to win. Clearly you don't know anything about the state of D3 distance running. Gregg is a 13:52/28:40 guy who runs hard from the gun. This isn't a scrub who barely made D3 nationals. The guy who ended up winning, Alex Phillip, won in a 14:07 in a race that would have been completely different if Gregg was there. This DQ changed the outlook of the race and Gregg was a decent bet to win.

LaCrosse ended up running a 3:08 in the 4x400 taking 4th. But who knows what the race would have looked like if the relay Team KNEW if they won they would take the title.

Sadly too often (some) officials think they're the most important people at the meet and will exercise that belief as often as possible :(

Yes, he definitely wanted to get a jump on not getting stuck. He led the 10000 most of the way and set a fast pace. He was going to do the same thing here, and he must have gotten antsy to execute. But here is the thing: he told everyone he was going to go hard from the start, as he did in the 10. All the runners, even the commentators, knew it. They all set their strategies accordingly. If he got out slow, it likely wouldn’t have mattered. He would have wound up in the middle of a pack that would have implicitly been waiting for him to lead, which he would have done probably within 1 lap. So he made a mistake by thinking he needed to get out quickly.

That being said, it was a ridiculous call. The rule is rarely enforced in a 5000 and everyone knows it. If the NCAA wants the rule to be more strictly enforced, then they should tell all officials and participants this at the beginning of the year, not have a situation where one official becomes the enforcer in the final distance race of the season. Runners would be more conservative as to how they get set on the start line.

They all should have stepped back from the line in protest? 5k or no 5k, make that the officials call.

If there are no lanes, make it a warning.

i.e. the 1500 and up shouldn't be a DQ

somebody post the video already

This