hayward102 wrote:
2) Be in a meet involving five or more high schools. (Not even sure what the point of this standard is. I guess records in 2, 3, or 4 team meets aren't valid? This criteria also eliminates any meet like Nike Outdoor Nationals or other post-season meets that are limited to high school only competitors but don't involve athletes specifically competing for their high school team).
This just helps to ensure that the marks are accurately timed or measured since meets involving five or more high schools would tend to be larger invitationals and championship-type races. Imagine if some kid throws "230 feet" in the discus in a dual meet. Would you accept that at face value? Probably not. I know I'd be thinking, "Well, let's see him do it at a real meet." This is one way of defining what a "real" meet is.
Note also that the meet needs to be NFHS sanctioned and athletes must be representing their high schools (which also have to be NFHS members), so Nike Outdoor Nationals won't ever count. Similarly, Cayla Hatton could never set any NFHS record because Phillips Academy is not a member of the NFHS (they allow fifth years to compete).