Stillwater sprintz wrote:
I was there and never saw 2 kids STOP 50 yards from finish and then run: just my opinion but I think it was chemiel saying F U to the shen parents there . Real lack of class .
This is the dumbest comment I've ever seen.
The plan for the Toga girls was to go 1-2-3, with Kelsey and Ella pacing Wheeler. Wheeler wins, Ella/Kelsey go 2-3 and they all go. Worst comes to worst, they pace her to the state at large standard and they go 2-3-4 in the same order with Faith winning.
Kelsey and Ella ran the state standard pace, like planned, and Wheeler started fading. They continued to run the pace that she needed to run, and once they realized that Faith was going to win and their teammate was not going to hit the mark, they decided the only chance she had of going was to still let her get second.
Kelsey asked her coach on the backstretch what to do. He said "just go finish", in sort of a defeated tone. Kelsey immediate started asking if they could let their teammate get second because it didn't really matter what they finished, and that was her only shot. Her coach quickly agreed and said "that's fine, do what you think you need to do." So they slowed down and let Wheeler go by.
Kelsey's hunch was correct, as Faith did not declare for the 3km because she had the Super Standard in the steeple the next day and was going to run that. So once Faith didn't declare, Wheeler was the next finisher and was invited to the state meet.
So all in all, the Toga girls and coaches had the right plan in mind, and eventually did the right thing to maximize their chances of going to the state meet. And it worked out fine.
The real problem is that even those with the Super Standard need to run the race. The rule should be written so those with the Super Standard just have to participate in the meet (the meet already has standards, so you can't enter Kelsey in the shot put, it would still have to be in a race she has qualified for the meet in). If you participate at the meet, you can declare for any event in which you qualify, including any race you had the Super Standard. That's how it should be laid out.
In this instance, both Chmiel and Kurto ran the 4x8 the next day, and that should allow them to declare for the 3km as well because of their Super Standard marks.
Stuff like this happened in the boys 800m, 3200m, 3km steeple, PV; girls 800m, 3km, 2km steeple just at the Section 2 meet alone (and maybe others I didn't hear about). Poor wording and poor foresight ruined the meet for many kids. The officials threw a hissy fit, but didn't they understand that the way the rule was written that the kids were going to try to help each other out and get as many of their local competitors, teammates, and friends to the meet as possible?