Lack of back-up plan for state meet lamented

Ohio’s cross country season was extended by a week when the OHSAA postponed the state meet in Hebron from Nov. 3 to Nov. 10.

The OHSAA cited flooding conditions, which prompted National Trail Raceway to close the course. As a result, the state’s only recourse was to push the meet back a week.

As a result, travel plans needed changed and student-athletes needed to wait another week to complete their season.

A decision to close the course by virtue of subpar conditions isn’t questionable. But what many around the state wonder is why there was no alternate option that could have kept the state meet on Nov. 3.

“Moving forward, the state needs to have a backup plan,” Mentor coach Bill Dennison said. “These kids have trained hard for this moment and not to have a back-up plan is inexcusable.”

Eight area teams and six individual runners qualified for the state meet, which now begins at 11 a.m. Nov. 10. The runners qualified out of the Youngstown Regional meet, held at Boardman High School. Rain fell during the duration of the meet and the conditions of a muddy course worsened with each race.

A week earlier, runners during the Division I girls race at Madison raced amid hail, thunderstorms and lightning.

Gilmour’s boys and girls teams are each headed to Hebron. Coach Matt Lindley said the Lancers were still able to secure their reservations and maintain travel plans. He thinks an extra week of rest may help some runners.

Lindley posits the toughest aspect of the meet’s postponement is mental.

“We were disappointed the meet was postponed but the kids have positive attitudes,” Lindley said. “After all, we’re still going. The letdown is after such an exciting regional, having to wait after being so fired up is hard for young people. They want to keep the momentum rolling.”

Kenston’s boys team qualified for its third straight state meet at Boardman. Coach Chris Ickes also would’ve liked the OHSAA to have a contingency plan in place had conditions at National Trail Raceway been unsatisfactory.

As a result, runners’ training patterns could be negatively impacted. Peaks in training last around a week to 10 days, depending on how runners taper their training mileage. Ickes added the race’s delay will reveal which teams logged significant mileage during the summer and minimally tapered training during the fall.

Many runners who compete Nov. 10 will head to Terre Haute, Ind., the next day for the Nike Cross Regionals Midwest meet Nov. 11. Back-to-back days of high-level competition present a conundrum for those student-athletes.

“Elite athletes trying to compete at Nike Midwest Regionals on Sunday have a tough decision,” Ickes said. “From what I understand, almost all of them are going to race state Saturday and NXR Sunday. That’s not protecting our athletes.”