NC A&T

"Jeptolo, a freshman from Kapsabet, Kenya, who was the United States Track And Field And Cross-Country Coaches Association's Division II Southeast Region Female Student-Athlete of the Year once again turned in another impressive distance-running performance as she qualified for the national championships with a win in the women's 5000 meters at the 2006 NC A&T Last Chance Track and Field Invitational over the weekend. A first-place finish in the women's 5000 meters, as she turned in a time of 16:56.03, was good enough to earn her an NCAA National Championships Qualification and rank her sixth nationally heading into the Championships."

So, she is ranked 6th in the nation for the 5K but her 5K pace would only place her 9th in the 10K?

Will one of you people who were defending her please explain this to me?

Preliminaries

1 Mandi Zemba Jr Grand Valley State 17:48.05Q

2 Emily Mortensen Sr Adams State 17:54.41Q

3 Nicole Plante Jr Mass - Lowell 17:48.19Q

4 Trina Cox Sr Abilene Christian 17:54.98Q

5 Michelle Icban Sr Adams State 17:48.40Q

6 Rachael Lanzel So Edinboro 17:55.38Q

7 Mandy Kaempf Jr Alaska Anchorage 17:49.35Q

8 Emily McGregor So UC San Diego 17:55.62Q

9 Adrian Chouinard Sr Grand Valley State 17:59.04q

10 Pilar Delgado Jr Cal St LA 17:59.65q

11 Karlie Singleton So Grand Valley State 18:03.91q

12 Julie Nemergut Jr Edinboro 18:06.64q

13 Kalina Szteyn So Harding 18:10.56

14 Erin Richard So Clarion 18:17.51

15 Crystal Stock Sr Southern Indiana 18:28.60

16 Irene Jeptolo So Winston-Salem 18:43.78

17 Lauren Bader Jr Grand Valley State 18:47.29

-- Lavenna Mullenbach Fr Adams State DNS

So, has anyone actually DONE anything about this (emailed the AD, NCAA, etc?) seems like this should not be something that gets looked over.

Oh my God! The coach sure put a positive spin on the race on the school's website. Listen to this:

EMPORIA, KS - Winston-Salem State University's Irene Jeptolo narrowly missed qualifying for the women's 5000 meter final at the NCAA Division II Women's Track and Field Championship from the campus of Emporia State University in Emporia, KS on Saturday afternoon as she turned in a time of 18:43.78.

Jeptolo, a freshman from Kapsabet, Kenya, who was the United States Track And Field And Cross-Country Coaches Association's Division II Southeast Region Female Student-Athlete of the Year once again turned in a stellar first season with the Lady Rams as she qualified for the national championships with a win in the women's 5000 meters at the 2006 NC A&T Last Chance Track and Field Invitational two weeks ago. A first-place finish in the women's 5000 meters at NC A&T, with a time of 16:56.03, was good enough to earn her an NCAA National Championships Qualification and rank her sixth nationally heading into the Championships where she fell just short of the finals finishing eighth in heat two of the preliminary round.

Jeptolo will continue to train over the summer as she prepares for the upcoming 2006 cross-country season which begins in August.

Now, let's look at the prelims results. She finished 16th out of 17 finishers. The last qualifier ran 18:06; she ran 18:43. So she narrowly missed qualifying by 37 seconds! Not only did they lie to get her into the meet but they lie about her performance at nationals. Shameless.

Preliminaries

1 Mandi Zemba Jr Grand Valley State 17:48.05Q

2 Emily Mortensen Sr Adams State 17:54.41Q

3 Nicole Plante Jr Mass - Lowell 17:48.19Q

4 Trina Cox Sr Abilene Christian 17:54.98Q

5 Michelle Icban Sr Adams State 17:48.40Q

6 Rachael Lanzel So Edinboro 17:55.38Q

7 Mandy Kaempf Jr Alaska Anchorage 17:49.35Q

8 Emily McGregor So UC San Diego 17:55.62Q

9 Adrian Chouinard Sr Grand Valley State 17:59.04q

10 Pilar Delgado Jr Cal St LA 17:59.65q

11 Karlie Singleton So Grand Valley State 18:03.91q

12 Julie Nemergut Jr Edinboro 18:06.64q

13 Kalina Szteyn So Harding 18:10.56

14 Erin Richard So Clarion 18:17.51

15 Crystal Stock Sr Southern Indiana 18:28.60

16 Irene Jeptolo So Winston-Salem 18:43.78

17 Lauren Bader Jr Grand Valley State 18:47.29

-- Lavenna Mullenbach Fr Adams State DNS

This is one of the most ridiculous things i've ever seen on letsrun. I can't believe the coach is still riding this train. narrowly missed? Are you kidding me?

If anybody knows her or her history, this is not surprising. When she was at Methodist she got lucky with an ethiopian kid who just walked on to the team having never run before. The kid is ridiculously talented and managed to win the Southeast regional meet (albeit the weakest regoin in DIII). Before the national meet he was being hyped as a favorite for the national title (not even close to reality). He led nationals for the first two miles or so until reality caught up to him. He was getting passed left and right and dropped out at like 4 miles or something. The press release on their website said that he had to drop out with injury a few hundred meters from the finish and in contention for the national title.

I guess if you suck as a coach, you twist the story to make youself look good.

Director Of Athletics

Dr. Percy "Chico" Caldwell (336) 750-2141

Fax (336) 750-2144

E-mail Address

caldwellp@wssu.edu

Head Men's and Women's Track and Field/Cross-Country Coach

Halcyon M. Blake (336) 750-2139

Fax (336) 750-2144

E-mail Address

blakeha@wssu.edu

Hey it can happen. One season I was running nothing but 5 minute miles. I couldn't for the life of me break 5 minutes by more then a few seconds and then it all came together in one meet. I busted out with a 4:18 mile. The only thing I did different was instead of running 5 miles in a row, I decided to just run one all out.

I don't see how the NCAA "safeguards" against cheating filtered out the much-deserving Nick End for a coach's mistake, but did not catch this clear case of cheating. This suggests a clear need for NCAA reform.

Also, the NCAA should ban this college from participating in NCAA sport for some time. Cheating to get an athlete into nationals is no small problem.

Before we revamp the NCAA, let me ask this: did anyone from this board call or write the NCAA to protest this athlete being in the meet? Was there ever and official protest filed at the qualifying meet? Did any of the coaches at the D-2 meet protest this athlete running? Did the NCAA even know that one of the hundreds of athletes at this meet may have possibly run a lap short?What do you propose the NCAA should do, look through the qualifying lists and research each athlete, then compare prior PRs to their time on the list, using the Purdy tables if there needs to be a conversion?Look, I think it's BS if this girl got into the meet when it looks like she shouldn't have, but does anyone have any concrete PROOF that she ran a lap short? It's entirely possible (although unlikely) that she had the race of her life. And if no one protested after the meet, or came forward with a videotape showing she only ran 11.5 laps, you can't really bitch that she ran at NCs.

Unbelievable wrote:

I don't see how the NCAA "safeguards" against cheating filtered out the much-deserving Nick End for a coach's mistake, but did not catch this clear case of cheating. This suggests a clear need for NCAA reform.

Also, the NCAA should ban this college from participating in NCAA sport for some time. Cheating to get an athlete into nationals is no small problem.

your man in cali wrote:

but does anyone have any concrete PROOF that she ran a lap short? It's entirely possible (although unlikely) that she had the race of her life. And if no one protested after the meet, or came forward with a videotape showing she only ran 11.5 laps, you can't really bitch that she ran at NCs.

I think she ran the race all by herself. There were probably no other coaches/athletes really paying attention to the race since they did not have any athletes in it. Everyone probably assumed that the officials had it correct. I doubt very many coaches (if any) even knew that the WSS coach protested. Beyond that, I doubt any of the coaches had any idea of what this girl's PRs were so they had no idea that she had run such an unbelievable time.

As for having proof, well, it's obvious that she ran a lap less. That can be shown by the time and the fact that every race she ran, both cross country and track for the last two seasons converts almost exactly to what her time would be for a 4600m split. It's like saying we can't convict a murderer unless we have surveillance video of him committing the crime. When there is clearly a mountain of evidence in support of the case, a conviction results (unless you are an ex-football player named after a fruit juice). There is enough evidence here to say that she certainly ran 1 lap short.

"Mr. Yu:

I do not know you and you do not know me. But I must say that I recent the implications sighted in this e-mail. I disagree with you my track coach did not cheat anyone nor did she disgrace our runner, our team or our university. My coach did what any coach should do and that is to come to the defense of her team members in an adverse situation. From all I can gather from the meet at A&T had more to do with the officials, lap counters and time keepers. Athletes compete, coaches coach and officials are charged with the responsibility to record times, of each athlete, each event and make sure those records are enter and submitted appropriately. If what you are implying that the times of the two athletes mentioned were correct or incorrect, that was a management issue, not a coaching issue.

I am proud of our teams performance in this our first year competing in track & field in over 20+ years. Please file your complaints to the appropriate place. My coach is not the person who can change the performance of meet officials.

Dr. C.

AD "

Not only does this athletic director not know how to spell, he also has blindly issued his support for what was an inherently immoral action by one of his coaches. Perhaps the coach was not wrong in issuing a challenge (as a mistake) during the meet. But the fact that she upheld the challenge knowing full well that her athlete ran exactly a lap's time faster than her PR displays a shocking lack of respect for the spirit of college athletics. This athletic director needs to realize this, and investigate the issue rather than shift the blame.

The athletic director practically admitted that their runner ran a lap short. It's one thing to make an honest mistake and let her run at nationals without knowing any better. But there is CLEARLY a pattern of deceit going on when you look at the race recap and see how blatantly exaggerated it is. Maybe the officials are the ones to blame for the timing issue...but the coach definetly knew that an error had been made and let her athlete run nationals anyways while a more deserving athlete stayed home.

Do the lies ever stop?

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Winston-Salem State University head track and field coach Halcyon M. Blake announced on Wednesday afternoon that Leesville Road High School track and field standout JaVonna O. Brown has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Winston-Salem State University and become a member of the Lady Rams' track and field program.

Brown, a highly decorated North Carolina high school athlete chose to attend WSSU over an extensive list of other institutions as she is forecasted to immediately step in an help build on the early successes of Halcyon Blake's fledgling program . Brown has turned in personal bests of 12.1 seconds in the 100 meters; 24.50 seconds in the 200 meters and 55.90 seconds in the 400 meters.

Now, here is the official NC state honor roll for this year:

WOMEN

100

1. Gabby Mayo, SE Raleigh 11.14w (11.60 OK)

2. Kelsey McCorkle, South Central, 11.79.

3. Gabrielle Glenn, Char Providence 11.86w (12.00 OK)

4. Shaquita Copeland, Perquimans 11.94c.

5. Stormy Kendrick, Gast Forestview, 11.95.

6. Jacinda Evans, S. Durham 11.96w. (12.16 OK)

7. Nyosha Bryant, Char Harding 12.01w.

8. Takisha Wise, W-S Mt. Tabor 12.03w. (12.04c OK)

9. Allegra Seegars, Gsbo Smith 12.04.

10 Octavia Burgess, Morg Freedom 12.05w (12.24c OK)

11T Ashley McKiver, HP Andrews 12.11.

11T Felicia Paulding, Char Harding 12.11w. (12.23 OK)

13 Chalonda Silver, Rocky Mount, 12.21.

14 Plensa Barsir, Char Hopewell 12.22.

15T Olivia Ellington, Watauga 12.24c.

15T India Gonzalez, Fay Smith 12.24c.

15T Aleesha Rice, Char Butler 12.24c.

15T Morgan McEachin, Red Springs 12.24c.

15T Sheqyra Guy, W. Charlotte 12.24.

200 METERS

1. Gabby Mayo, SE Raleigh 23.51.

2. Ebonie Cunningham, SE Raleigh 24.58.

3T Gabrielle Glenn, Char Providence 24.64c.

3T Kelsey McCorkle, South Central 24.64c.

5. Felicia Paulding, Char Harding 24.74c.

6. Nyosha Bryant, Char Harding 24.84c.

7. Aleesha Rice, Char Butler 25.02.

8. Jacinda Evans, S. Durham 25.14c.

9T Ashley McKiver, HP Andrews 25.24c.

9T Shaquita Copeland, Perquimans County 25.24c.

11 Octavia Burgess, Morg Freedom 25.27.

12 Malai Walker, Char Latin 25.31.

13T Christy Johnson, Ral Athen Drive 25.34c.

13T Stormy Kendrick, Gast Forestview 25.34c.

13T Felicia White, White Oak 25.34c.

13T Chalonda Silver, Rocky Mount 25.34c.

400 METERS

1. Ebonie Cunningham, SE Raleigh 55.10.

2. Gabrielle Glenn, Char Providence 55.47.

3. Christy Johnson, Ral Athens Drive 56.74c.

4. Lynda Hiller, Apex 56.90.

5. Tiaera Reynolds, Gsbo Dudley 56.94c.

6. *Gabby Mayo, SE Raleigh 57.34c.

7. Brittany Fennell, W. Henderson 57.57.

8. Janet Carothers, Char Harding 57.69.

9. Javonna Brown, Ral Leesville Road 57.84c.

10T Gereka Banks, Kern Glenn 57.94c.

10T Trisha Bennett, W-S Parkland 57.94c.

12 Yvonna Hines, NE Guilford 57.96.

13 Felish Garren, N. Henderson 58.11.

14 Morgan McEachin, Red Springs 58.16.

15 Taylor Holt, Char Myers Park 58.24.

This girl didn't even make the state meet this year. So i went back and checked 2005 - best times were 12.7 and I think 26.5. This is unbelievable. In the internet age, with results available to everyone at the click of a mouse, how do coaches think they can get away with lying about times?

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Winston-Salem State University head track and field coach Halcyon M. Blake announced on Tuesday afternoon that High Point Central High School track and field standout Christopher Young has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Winston-Salem State University and be a member of Rams' the track and field program.

Young, a highly decorated North Carolina high school athlete both in football and track amd field chose to concentrate his focus on track and field at WSSU. Young has turned in personal bests of 10.54 seconds in the 100 meters; 21.80 seconds in the 200 meters; 23'9" in the triple jump and 14.59 seconds in the 110 meter high hurdles.

There was no Christopher Young that I could find but there was a Tyler Young.

Tyler Young

200 Regional Seed: 22.50

200 Regional Time: 23.39

100 Regional Seed: 10.90

100 Regional Time: 10.78

NC Honor Roll - nowhere to be found

MEN

100 METERS

1. Antonio Sales, E. Chapel Hill 10.34cw.

2. Rico Bell, Char Vance, 10.48w.

3. Atolani Akinkuotu, South Central 10.50.

4. Brandon Banks, Garner 10.52.

5T Crezdon Butler, Asheville 10.54cw.

5T Lester White, Perquimans County 10.54c.

7. Kelvin Hardesty, New Bern 10.59.

8T Johnny White, Asheville 10.64cw.

8T Edward Alexander, W. Charlotte 10.64c.

8T Antoinne McNeil, E. Carteret 10.64c.

8T Bobby Hatchell, Jacksonville 10.64c.

12 Archie Barrow, W-S Reynolds 10.66.

13T Rigdon Whitfield, New Bern 10.69.

13T Anthony Green, Central Cabarrus 10.69w.

15 Phillip Bush, N Rowan 10.71w.

200 METERS

1T Antonio Sales, E. Chapel Hill 21.34cw.

1T Antoinne McNeil, E. Carteret 21.34c.

3. Brandon Banks, Garner 21.42.

4. Archie Barrow, W-S Reynolds 21.52.

5TAnthony Green, Central Cabarrus 21.54c.

5T Bryce Sherman, W-S Parkland 21.54c.

7T Edward Alexander, W. Charlotte 21.64c.

7T Aaron Anderson, Fay Byrd 21.64.

7T Lester White, Perquimans County 21.64c.

7T Terrell Davis, N. Nash 21.64c.

11T Tim Core, Hoke County 21.74c.

11T Rico Bell, Char Vance 21.74c.

11T Trenton Guy Jr., W. Charlotte 21.74c.

11T Crezdon Butler, Asheville 21.74c.

15 Dominique Young, Char Berry 21.82.

Coaches have been fired for less deceit than this. There was a thread this track season about a coach who was fired for submitting false times to a meet in order to get his runners in a better heat. This coach lied to get her runner in the NCAA meet. Where is the accountability from the AD or the school president?

My first message:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this email to express my firm disapproval of the mannerin which you handled Irene Jeptolo's qualification for the national

meet. From Jeptolo's previous times both before and after the supposed qualifying time of 16:56, it is clear that she only ran 4600m for that qualifying race. At that pace, she would have finished another lab in 18:13,exactly on par with the rest of her performances this year. Her time at

NCAA's, 18:43, further confirms the fact that she has never been capable of running 16:56, much less 17:56. The worst part is that you spun her story as a triumph, saying that she was ranked "sixth nationally heading

into *the Championships where she fell just short of the finals finishing eighth in heat two of the preliminary round."

Not only was the ranking due to your unscupulousness, no, cheating, and not only did she fall much short of qualifying for finals, but also, you have cheated

a true quality runner out of qualifying for the national meet. Her name is Nicole Blaesser, a junior from Indiana University. She ran a legitimate 17:25.96, as you can and should verify by looking up her results by yourself.

You have shamed your runners, your team, and your university. Cheaters have no place in sports.

Sincerely,

----

The ensuing dialogue:

Mr. ----:

I do not know you and you do not know me. But I must say that I recent the implications sighted in this e-mail. I disagree with you my track coach did not cheat anyone nor did she disgrace our runner, our team or our university. My coach did what any coach should do and that is to come to the defense of her team members in an adverse situation. From all I can gather from the meet at A&T had more to do with the officials, lap counters and time keepers. Athletes compete, coaches coach and officials are charged with the responsibility to record times, of each athlete, each event and make sure those records are enter and submitted appropriately. If what you are implying that the times of the two athletes mentioned were correct or incorrect, that was a management issue, not a coaching issue.

I am proud of our teams performance in this our first year competing in track & field in over 20+ years. Please file your complaints to the appropriate place. My coach is not the person who can change the performance of meet officials.

Dr. C.

AD

Dr. Caldwell:

My issue is that your coach filed a protest that her athlete had run a long race knowing that her athlete had run a frankly bizzare time, and that after the fact, she maintained support for what mounting evidence clearly suggests was a bogus time. This was the coaching issue that I bring up. Whether the initial blame belongs with the officials for accepting your coach's appeal, your coach is at fault for maintaining the pretense that her athlete ran a legitimate time. Never before has an already elite athlete suddenly dropped exactly one lap of time off of

her 5000m time, and then gone straight back to running at her previous level. As I understand, your coach is not a newcomer to the sport of track and field; she certainly recognized this fact. Coaches certainly have the responsibility of supporting their athletes, but this is far

less important than playing morally and fairly.

As a concerned NCAA athlete, I hope that no bogus time ever holds me out of a championship meet as it did Nicole Blaesser. This is why I encourage you to throw off your pride in your athletics department to investigate what could be a serious violation of the spirit of the NCAA

and of college athletics.

Sincerely,

----

Mr. ----:

Your message is very clear, but again, if the track officials are doing their job as they should when there is a mix up how many laps an athlete ran, or the times of the run, that is what coaches do, stand up for their athlete and protest. It happens in every sport where coaches argue and fight for a position that favors their athlete. It still comes down to how the track meet officials handle a coach's protest. From my standpoint, a coach can protest all he or she wants, right or wrong. It is up to the official track meet management team to make a decision that can be right or it can be wrong. Over my career as a coach an athletics director, I have seen games won and lost, championships determined on decisions of officials who can and do determine competition outcomes. In this case you are talking about individual athletes, other sports the impact is on the team. But the results are still the same. I have responded to this second e-mail and I will let this issue go and frankly I think you should also, because the decision was made and Coach Blake cannot go back and changed that outcome and neither can you, and we know the official will not, at this point. The only thing that can be done is to make sure that track meet directors hire strong and knowledgeable officials who pay attention throughout a meet to insure fair and equitable outcomes for student-athletes.

No need to respond, this is a mute issue for me at this point.

Thanks

Dr. C.

Dear Mr. Caldwell,

I think it is unfair of you to simply sweep this issue under the table. I am not suggesting that something can be done about this; clearly the nationals race cannot be redone with the right entrants. What I am saying is that the actions in the past, including your acknowledment that Jeptolo should not have run and continuing support of your program's decision, were immoral and have no place in college athletics. It is the right of a coach to protest all he or she wants; your coach was entirely justified in contesting the number of laps Jeptolo ran. But the justification stems only from the fact that the coach believed herself correct in stating that Jeptolo ran an incorrect number of laps. Once it became extremely apparent that your coach was in fact in error, maintaining her stance became, in its essence, cheating.

You stated in your previous email that the "only thing that can be done is to make sure that track meet directors hire strong and knowledgeable officials." This is wrong--it is very much more important for the athletes and coaches to abide by the rules than for the officials to enforce them, for otherwise sporting would cease to exist. Whether you take action regarding the past events, I want you to acknowledge that sporting depends fundamentally on the honesty of its participants.

You also stated that you "have seen games won and lost, championships determined on decisions of officials who can and determine competition outcomes," and then generalized it to the case of Jeptolo. This analogy does not hold true in the following ways: championships cannot be replayed, whereas the decision regarding Jeptolo played out over several weeks; the ramifications of the events did not simply affect two competing teams, but also the entire NCAA 5K field; and finally, officials make decisions regarding ambiguous, gametime events, whereas in this case, it not only officials but also coaches and athletes holding to something that is obviously wrong. And regardless of whether officials catch cheating, it is still wrong, and you at least should agree with me on this. Athletic directors and coaches should hold to the highest moral standards out of all NCAA participants, for from there stems the leadership of all the others.

Sincerely,

----

Mr. ----:

I told you in my last e-mail. I am finished with this. I am not sure what you are looking for or expecting, but whatever it is look somewhere else. I am not a person who spends a lot of my time dealing with complaints. What you are doing is complaining and whining with no solution in site. There is nothing you can do about what happen a few weeks ago at the A&T track meet, but whine about it. It is a done deal, right or wrong, like it or not. Don’t you get it?

Now, you don’t know me and I really don’t know you, but it is inappropriate for either of us to question one’s moral standards. I am not going to venture there and say anything about your moral values. By the way, who is your athletics director, if this kind of communication continues; I might need to write him/her.

Move on!

Dr. C.

So after that rather fruitless dialogue with "Dr. C" (by the way, look him up online-he's an exercise infomercial guy!), I've decided that the proper body to discuss this with is the NCAA. Does anybody know the contact person for this region?