Shady MS Entries in Ohio - do I say something?

Likely the coach made a simple mistake with their grade, or someone else down the line did. I have seen that many times.

D. Vigilante justice.

Don't let those 13 year old b-words get away with this war crime.

Flagpole wrote:

Likely the coach made a simple mistake with their grade, or someone else down the line did. I have seen that many times.

Not here, Flagpole. And perhaps you even know the coach, as I know you're a Central Ohio dude.

These girls were entered in every meet in 2016 as 7th graders, every meet in 2017 as 8th graders, and every meet this year as 8th graders again. Pick North, Fleet Feet at TWHS, Midwest Meet of Champions in Hilliard, the Griffin Run in Powell, etc., etc.

This is intentional and it's ongoing. Plus, it involves additional athletes beyond those listed.

Now that OHSAA sponsors state meets at the MS level, this becomes an issue beyond a "Hey why not just let them run?" sort of thing. All the other MS teams follow the rules... so why should St. Michaels be any different?

"It ain't cheating if you don't get caught."

"We're doing it for the best interest of the kids" are just a few things I've been told by "cheating" coaches over the years.

Don't say anything, but maybe someone will read letsrun.

You should definitely report it to the state association and let them do what they will with it. It is not right to falsify entries into meets. This is not a case of a mistake being made. It has clearly been done to deceive people so that the girls could run for 3 seasons instead of only 2.

Flagpole wrote:

Likely the coach made a simple mistake with their grade, or someone else down the line did. I have seen that many times.

A simple mistake, bro?

Either they are ninth graders now, or

They ALL flunk 8th grade, or

The coach messed up their ages TWICE.

Either way, they shouldn't be running, the coach should be banned, or both.

C. I'm not sure if it is OHSAA jurisdiction if they aren't in high school, but pass it on.

OP:

My 2c:

- what's your coach doing about it? I've seen clear "school year" violations at the top levels of middle school age AAU bball, and the coach sorted it (he withdrew from the championship game of an Eastern USA tournament)

- if you are the coach, or your coach isn't doing anything about it, reach out to the presumed violators and their AD. Let them have their say. I've found Milesplit to have little to no curation of records, so get that sorted first.

- Ive no idea in Ohio who your "run under the rules of x", but almost all kids athletics are run under some body, and that body has by-laws which address appeals. If you're not the coach, you'll have little luck, as tons of parents would inundate their appeals processes for the perceived wrongs to their snowflake.

Let us know what you do, and what the outcomes are.

Clearly a violation of OHSAA rules. Grade level was falsified by the coach when entering these invitationals in 2016. This is not an honest mistake. Unless I missed the rule about middle school athletes redshirting, I think this should be reported. Thou Shall Not Steal Podium Spots.

My state doesn't have organized (at least statewide) MS XC. Races are usually organized by coaches as invitationals and its pretty much (afaik) a private school thing, though often anyone can run.

Its pretty much honor system and who would care if a 6th grader ran? I think even younger probably run.

Now people would complain if a 9th grader showed up..

Then there are age-group-usatf etc events as well.

Summary: Just forget it unless you think they are now too old.

In Ohio, only 7th and 8th graders can run in the invitationals listed by OP. Not only is the school cheating, but liability issues must also be considered. On the girls side, utilizing 6th grade girls would be a huge competitive advantage. Girls often run their fastest times in middle school .

skdyhskdj wrote:

My state doesn't have organized (at least statewide) MS XC. Races are usually organized by coaches as invitationals and its pretty much (afaik) a private school thing, though often anyone can run.

Its pretty much honor system and who would care if a 6th grader ran? I think even younger probably run.

Now people would complain if a 9th grader showed up..

Then there are age-group-usatf etc events as well.

Summary: Just forget it unless you think they are now too old.

While ohsaa does regulate middle school sports, they only regulate for members. Since this school is private and not affiliated with any high school, they probably aren't a member of the OHSAA.

The state middle school championships for cross country are not put on by ohsaa but another organization. It would be their decision whether to let this school participate.

It would also be up to the individual races to decide whether to let this school participate and whether they could do so with 6th graders.

Looking at the current cross country championship page, they have expanded to also include elementary races. That may be in response to many teams using younger runners on their middle school roster and to expand the interest in running to younger athletes.

Say a prayer for them. Because they won’t be running in these events for long. ?

Just my opinion...... wrote:

http://www.ohiocrosscountry.org/about-us

True. This meet labels itself the "Ohio State Meet for MS XC", and it's run by outsiders.

However, OHSAA has sponsored its own "State Meet" for the past few years on the same weekend. It has no qualifying meet, so it doesn't call itself a championship, but it's likely trending that way - a la MS track, which definitely has an OHSAA sponsored, qualification only meet.

So if the St. Michaels girls are truly taking spots at these OHSAA meets, that's crap. They should follow the rules.

I am almost certain that the sponsors of either "state" meet would not be supportive of a coach/parent deceptively registering a 6th grader as a 7th grader.

agreed!

If it is a small private school, they may not move through grades in the traditional sense, much like home schooled students do.

It's middle school, my guy. No one cares, nor should anyone care. It's kind of pathetic that you even noticed.