Ohio State Association Officially Pushes Back States 1 Week

Nov 01, 2018

Update:

RELEASE: #OHSAA Postpones State Cross Country Tournament to Nov. 10
The entire article is available on https://t.co/faC1zHB8SZ

For tournament coverage information, visit https://t.co/YJbvcveNWj pic.twitter.com/DKwWUS4UuJ
-- OHSAA Sports (@OHSAASports) November 1, 2018

- - -

OHSAA's Press Release: Link

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio High School Athletic Association has postponed Saturday's state cross country tournament and is moving the championships to Saturday, Nov. 10, due to flooding conditions on the course at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass has announced.

"While I wholeheartedly understand the impact this move has for all those involved in the event, this is the best solution for the safety and well-being of our participating student-athletes," Snodgrass said. "National Trail Raceway has closed the course due to flooding with the on-going rain we have had in central Ohio, so the conditions will hopefully be much better by next weekend."

The schedule for the championships will be as follows:

Saturday, Nov. 10, National Trail Raceway, Hebron

11:00 a.m. - Boys Division III

11:45 a.m. - Boys Division II

12:30 p.m. - Boys Division I

1:30 p.m. - Girls Division III

2:15 p.m. - Girls Division II

3:00 p.m. - Girls Division I

- - -

Updated Story:

The Ohio High School Athletic Association has made a final decision on pushing back the state's cross country championships, originally scheduled for Saturday at the National Trail Raceway in Hebron, back an entire week due to excess flooding near parking areas and the course itself.

The rescheduled meet will take place on November 10, exactly one day before the NXR Midwest Regional in Terra Haute, Indiana.

Mike Chatfield of Finish Timing, whose company will time the state championships, was notified by the co-tournament director of the meet, Terry Oerhtman, on Thursday of the potential schedule change.

OHSAA is planning postponing State to next Saturday on account of wet. If busses can dropp off 7 runners we need to RACE. This is cross country! PLEASE email Dale Gabor dhabor@OHSAA.org many busses, hotels, trips, and huge NXR/NXN implications for nationally ranked teams. HELP!
-- HD Girls XC/Distance (@HDGXC) November 1, 2018

OHSAA postpones State Championship to Nov 10th. Makes announcement 48 hours before meet. Impacts tapering, hotels, bussing and many other aspects of meet. Unbelievable move on OHSAA's part, move the location not the date.
-- GlenOak Distance (@glenoakboysxc) November 1, 2018

Huge implications for teams, athletes, coaches, family and friends. Wish OHSAA was willing to look at other options (course change?). @Nike NXR meet is just 20 hours later, in Indiana for any team hoping to qualify to NXN. This decision doesn't have our student athletes in mind. https://t.co/0K4tZ5hEdK
-- Bridget Onders (@BridgetOndersJr) November 1, 2018

@ohsaa.org This decision is NOT made w/ any thought to best interest of runners. Was alternative to current course considered- or just changing week to make it easier for OHSAA vs runners who train specifically for this day? 1/2
-- Sarah Schroeder (@Schroeder3Sarah) November 1, 2018

The move has sparked controversy within the cross country community in Ohio. Many teams will have to change hotel and travel accommodations ahead one week, while other teams will have to consider whether to race or skip the NXR Midwest Region the next day in Terra Haute, Indiana. The road trip from Hebron, Ohio, is approximately 400 miles.

The National Trail Raceway venue, in its eighth year holding the state championships, accommodates over 12,000 spectators and produces six races over three classifications. A number of variables likely fit into this decision, including safety of athletes on the course, pending weather, parking availability and adequate sight lines for spectators.

Chatfield said the race course and adjacent areas are "under water" and that "it takes about two to three days for areas to drain and to where it's not muddy."

He added that Ohio has been pummeled with rain over the last two days and conditions are not ideal for racing on Saturday.

This potential shift could put national qualifiers in jeopardy for the likes of girls teams like Beavercreek, ranked No. 11 on the MileSplit50, and No. 17 Centerville. On the boys side, teams that stand to be impacted include Mason, Hudson and Cincinnati St. Xavier.

"I think it would be a terrible situation for all the kids who have been training and been preparing to peak for this week and to hold that for another week will ask a lot of those kids," Beavercreek girls cross country coach Howard Russ said. "I just think it will be really hard for the kids, both physically and mentally."

Russ said the team's No. 1 focus will be on the state championships.

"That's always been our No. 1 goal," he said. "It would be hard to tell the girls not to run all out at the state meet, because the state meet should always be your No. 1 goal."

Because NXN or its accompanying regionals are not a governed by the NFHS, it is considered a club competition, which means the OHSAA can operate based on its own interests and will ultimately come to a decision removed from consideration of any other competition.

MileSplit will have more on the potential rescheduling as new information flows in.

- - -

And for more information into the history of Ohio's state championships at the National Trail Raceway, listen to an interview Terry Oerhtman gave MileSplit in 2016: