By Michael Newman

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It took a squirrel to change how the 2013 IHSA State Cross Country Meet took place on November 9. According to Brian Bretsch, a spokesman for Ameren Illinois, a squirrel crossing a power line hit a fuse causing a blackout in a limited area in Peoria including all of Detweiller Park.

The blackout caused the delay of the start of the 1A Girls State championship race until 9:30 AM. The rest of the day was a disaster as it took more time than normal to review races, post results, and hold the award ceremonies.

It came down to one decision that caused the commotion at the meet. With the 1A Girls race starting one half hour later than normal, the IHSA needed to make a decision on if the rest of the races on the meet schedule would be delayed as the first race was or would it go on as schedule.

There were no announcements on what was going on. Coaches that had athletes in the 1A race started to question when the next race would go off? In a state meet like this, a once in a lifetime opportunity for some student-athletes, when does an athlete do a warm-up to be properly prepared for the race?

The story is how one decision made by the IHSA provided a trickle-down effect on how the rest of the meet. It was perhaps more of a landslide that effected athletes, coaches, and fans. In looking into this story, I discovered that it was not only one mistake that Ron McGraw and his staff from the IHSA made on that day, but other aspects of the running of the meet that been managed inappropriately.

There was an announcement made by the IHSA at approximately 9:23 AM that the 1A Girls race would go off at 9:30 AM. The 1A Boys race would start as scheduled at 10:00 AM.

The only other announcement that was made by the IHSA was before the start of the 3A Boys award ceremony approximately 3:30 PM. They apologized for the delay in the award ceremony. The reason for the delay was that it was tough to read the numbers on the bibs of the athletes when they were doing the video review of the races.

That is partially true.

When I was leaving the park, I ran into Jerry Reibling. He is in charge of River City Race Management. He is also the man who is in charge of the scoring and timing of each of the six state races. He was ready to end his day, He looked exhausted.

We talked for a minute. I asked him about the color of the numbers on the bibs. “That is true. In some of the races, we were having trouble reading the numbers,” Reibling said.

I then asked him if the delay in the first race of the day was a cause for the delays in the results for the rest of the meet.

“Yes,” he said.

The delay in the first race and then running the meet on schedule for the rest of the day was the main cause of why there were so many delays in getting the results up. It came down to one decision by Ron McGraw, one of the Assistant Directors of the IHSA and the Head Administrator of Boys & Girls Cross Country.

McGraw approached Reibling and Marchan Adkins, CEO of Adkins Trak Timing who was helping Reibling with the timing and the video review of the meet, and asked one question.

According to Adkins, McGraw asked the two men: “Would we be able to get the timing up for the Boys race at 10:00?”  They replied with a yes.

The 1A Girls race began at 9:30 AM. The last runner of the race crossed the finish line 28:23 later. The boys race went off as scheduled. That is when the problems began.

It is good to stay on schedule when you are doing a cross country or track meet. When there is a conflict in running in the meet, such as weather, it takes a good manager of the meet to take in the considerations of the choices that can be made, weigh in the factors that each of the choices would affect the meet, and make that choice.

The only thing that McGraw asked Reibling and Adkins was if they could have a clock running for the next race. We don’t know if he considered the other factors of what would happen. We are not inside of McGraw’s mind. However, the choice that he made was the wrong one. The one choice that he made affected the rest of the meet.

If the meet would have started on time, there would have been time to do the video review of the race required by the IHSA. “In normal conditions, it usually takes about 35 minutes to do a complete video review of the meet,” Adkins said. “At this year’s state meet, we were starting to do the review as the 1A Boys race was going on. The race ended and we still did not have the first race (1A Girls) finished and results posted.”

Adkins was an iatrical part of the review. If there is a question with the order of runners, he could look on his computer with the Finish Lynx component and verify the runner. Instead, he had to monitor the finish and make sure that they were getting reads of the runners crossing the finish pads for the 1A Boys race.

The back-up had just begun. Delays started to occur in getting the results posted. The 1A awards ceremony scheduled to start at 11:00 AM obviously was not going to start because only the 1A girls Results were posted. The 1A Boys results were not posted until 12:05 PM, nearly two hours after the start of the race.

It just took one bad choice to make what is supposed to be a memorable day for the athletes, coaches, and parents something that they would never forget but for the wrong reasons.

For example in the 1A Boys race, Andy Arenz of Auburn did not make the start of the race. He was at the other end of the park when the race went off. “Yes, we were far enough away from the starting line not to see or hear what was going on and thought there would be more time after girls race and did not make the line in time,” said Auburn Coach Rob Arenz. “We were very disappointed.”

If a common sense approach would have been taken and delayed the meet to have been contested with a race going off every hour at the half hour, then we do not have this discussion and would not be writing this. Instead, we had what we had.

“I was disappointed to hear of the problems that class A had.  Especially with the 1A Boys.  The officials might not have been able to control the issues that delayed the girls class A race, but, they had control of how to allow it to affect the scheduling of the class A boys race,” one coach told me but wished to remain anonymous. “When you couple the events of Saturday with the events of last May, you get an ugly picture.  As a coach, I try to prepare my athletes for anything they may encounter.  The last thing I want is poor management to affect athlete performance such as what happened with the class A boys.”

The other bad state meet moment was last May when McGraw and the IHSA made the decision to speed the meet up because of inclement weather that was going to hit the area. As everyone who was there knew, there were no tornados, no thunderstorms that were in the general area on that day. The forecasts called for rain. The fact was, the closest lightning strikes were reported in Wichita, Kansas, some 572 miles away. The schedule in May was sped up so that the meet ended at 2:30 PM. At that point, the sun was coming out and the meet could have been held in decent weather. The facts were that the speeding up of the meet caused to have the competition running in less than ideal weather for the rest of the meet. If common sense was used, only half the meet would have been run in rainy conditions.

Step by Step

Let’s go through step by step what happened right as the power went out ten minutes before the start of the race. “As we were in the throes of our final setup and testing, we lost power in the trailer,” said Adkins. “I immediately moved to the outside and fired up one of my two generators I brought with me so we could start the race. I was ready to go about 8:55, but there was no way to communicate this to the masses.”

Chris Perry, the former athletic director at Peoria Central High School and the meet director, told the Chicago Tribune’s Bill Liesse “We had generators, and it just took us a couple minutes to get them up and running.”

That was not what actually happened. “The IHSA did not have any generators backing them up. They had to borrow one of my generators to power up the PA system,” Adkins added. “A rep from Saucony had a 20 gallon generator that he let the IHSA use as well.” In preparing for a state meet, would you not take in consideration losing power? In this case, the IHSA failed to do so.

According to Adkins, he had move his laptop from inside of the trailer to a table by the finish line so that he could monitor the finish. “After disconnecting things inside and going outside, I compromised the presentation I had planned to deliver and was limited to just a running time on the scoreboard.”

With Adkins outside monitoring the finish for both 1A races, he was in no position to help out with the review of each of the races. When power was restored to the park at 10:05 AM, it allowed Atkins back into the trailer where he could go back to plan A.

I had mentioned earlier that the IHSA had made an announcement about not being able to read the bib numbers when doing the review. That was partially true. “The sun made it difficult to read the numbers between 10:00 AM and noon,” added Adkins. “The light color of the numerals on the bib made it especially difficult for video review. Also starting the next race on schedule was not a good move. This created a video review backlog as Jerry and crew were rushed to pump out results. There is normally 35 minutes or so to complete one race prior to the next. This did not happen.”

One thing that could have been used were hip numbers for the runners to wear. It would have been easier for the video review. They were not used. “We had two set of hip numbers,” Adkins said. “I'm not sure whether the IHSA didn't have enough pins or failed to place them in packets. Either way, they weren't placed in packets. We could not use the hip numbers.”

As any manager knows, preparation is the key for a successful operation. You review months before your event different scenarios of what could happen and how you respond to that. When I was in management that was the approach that I would use and convey to my staff. When we got of the day of the event and something did happen, you and your staff would know what decision to make since you had reviewed that before the event. The right decision could then be made.

In the case of the IHSA State Cross Country Meet held on November 9, this simply did not happen.

There have been many coaches that have written to me about the situation. None of these coaches wishes for their name to be used in the article because of the retribution that the IHSA may apply on them or their school. There has been a history of this happening with schools or coaches that do not agree with the IHSA.

One coach said: “Why weren’t coaches called to the start/finish area to be directly informed from IHSA officials?  Here’s what I remember.  Everyone was told there would be a delay of unknown time and the meet will not start until power is restored.  So the girls are left at the starting line trying to manage their time.  But WHY didn’t the IHSA consider the boys when they restarted at 9:30?  At 9:20, everyone was informed that the boy’s race would start at 10:00…WHY?  You could see boys getting frantic.  Their warm-up just shortened by 20 minutes.  Actually, it’s much more stressful for the boys when you examine the situation.  The IHSA wants them to the starting line 25 minutes prior to the race.  So let me get this straight, you want the boys to; report in 15 minutes to the starting line, not watch their female teammates race, make the coach choose to watch the girls or assist the boys, cross the course during the race, run through all the spectators dashing from one side to the other, attempt strides while spectators are in the starting area, and expect that to not affect their race?”

A coach said: “I expected a better meet from the IHSA. Elite distance runners have tested pre-race routines that are carried out with precision. I think we were all frustrated at some point on Saturday but I really felt terrible for the 1A athletes and the hand that they were dealt. We've all witnessed IHSA officials who have become part of the show in basketball and other sports but it should never happen in cross country. Hopefully this sloppy day will become a catalyst for improved preparedness in the future.”

Chris Friedman, coach at Dunlap High School, went through the same frustration as the other coaches. But some of the mistakes that were made affected his team and staff.

“The IHSA made a decision that caused problems all day. At that point, why not push each race back 30 minutes? I and my assistant coach couldn't believe they were going to ahead with the boys' race on time. That decision caused a time crunch which cascaded throughout the day. The video review never caught up, and as it was rushed, mistakes were made. This decision was made poorly and caused much of the problems with the rest of the day,” said Friedman. “This all lead to the posting of 2A results. After the boys race, I stood around the results board, hoping to see girls results before the awards ceremony. We had one all-state girl but were unsure if she was 10th or 11th. Obviously, we also wanted to know a team place. At 1:00, I left the finish line area because I was not going to miss our school's first girl all-stater getting her medal. Of course, the awards started late, but after a little delay, it began. As the individuals were being finished, one of my runners came to me with his phone and showed the posted girls results. We were listed as having finished 15th. That shocked me because it was lower than what I expected. Then my assistant and I noticed we had only six scorers. After some more looking, we figured out that our number two was missing from the results. I made my way back to finish line area as the girls 3A race is finishing. I found an official and explained the issue with the results. In the following forty-five minutes, I was told a few things that were contradictory. Everyone insisted that video review was done, but I have a hard time believing that. I was told at one point that officials knew there was someone missing from the results because of a difference between the number of tag times and the hand count of finishers. Later I was told that there was no difference between tag times and hand count. Finally, the problem was corrected, but I also heard that my runner was not the only one who didn't appear in the results. We went from 15th to 9th overall, but the wrong results were posted for nearly an hour. Ultimately, the error only changed results that were behind the top three teams and top twenty-five individuals. Imagine an error that effected the top three or top twenty-five? Given that results were posted at the same time as the awards started, you could have had a situation where someone is believing they are top 25 but not in the results. Or a trophy is handed to a team only to discover it belongs to a different team. Ultimately it was frustrating to us, but it could have been a disaster.”

It comes down to one decision. It comes down to an insensitivity that the IHSA has in regards to the running of a state championship meet. I know when I participated in three state meets when I was in high school, the officials were there but you did not notice them. When I look back at those meets, I remember the moments of the meet that I participated in. Can the athletes that are competing in the meets now say the same thing?

Go back and look at the Boys State Track Meet last May. I talked to Patrick Perrier of O’Fallon after he finished the 1600 Meter Run. An hour before, he had just finished the 3200 Meter Run where he earned all-state honors. “That was ridiculous,” Perrier said after that meet. “We never ran in a meet where the 3200 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run were that close together.”

Perrier and his teammate Alex Riba were competing in both of those races. O’Fallon had a good team with aspirations of leaving the meet with a team trophy. They were counting on big points from both of those athletes. Instead with the meet being put into hyper drive, O’Fallon finished sixth.

The state meets have become less about the kids and more about the IHSA. It is a matter of there is a time frame that they have to meet. When the schedule was so backed up at the end of the day, they were about ready to start the awards for the 3A Boys race. The announcer on the stage asked for the top 25 runners in that race to assemble behind the stage. The problem was, the results from that meet had not been posted!

Brian Webb is the coach of the Glenbard South Girls Team that placed second in the 2A Girls race. He was upset how the awards situation played out.

“It was totally unacceptable to start the 2A awards moments after posting it. I missed my individual all-state runners being announced and going on-stage. I missed that moment of telling my team that we were 2nd. We were "robbed" of that moment and the ensuing celebration. I had to scramble to find the alternates and our principal to tell them they too were needed behind the stage. When they were then ready to announce the top 3 teams, I asked them to wait so our individual all-staters could finish taking their pictures. I was told that they were moving ahead with or without them. Then I said: “Well, you don't have the boys’ results yet, so what's the rush?” It was a moot point to them. Why does this bother me so much? How many times will I, as a coach, get to experience a top 3 finish at the state meet? It was my first and it could be my last - I don't know what the future holds. For the girls, they have even fewer chances of experiencing this. I just thought it was very poorly managed. I'm not upset that it took so long to review results - I get that they want and need to get that right. But to rush through the awards? It was uncalled for.”

It is a moment that there should be some common sense used by the IHSA and the staff helping them run off the event. It is about sensitivity of the event that the IHSA does not have a grasp on. It is a moment that a coach and an athlete will remember for the rest of their lives. It is a forever moment. Instead, one person that was working in that area ruined it for those coaches and athletes.

I know we cannot go back to holding the awards to Peoria High School gym. The enormity of the event with six races being contested will not allow that. Why not move the awards to 11:30, 1:30, and 3:30? It would give the IHSA to make sure everything is correct with the results. The awards ceremony used to be always for the athletes, coaches, and fans. It is not that case now. The time change would be a nice touch for those involved to enjoy the moment.

It will never happen. It would not make any sense with the IHSA.

Chip timing

It shows in the running of the races. The IHSA decrees that the bibs be worn towards the top of the athlete’s singlet. The reasoning for that is for the video review. When the athletes are running, you cannot see what school they are participating for. It hurts fans and coaches trying to follow the race and seeing where there school stands.

In 2013, the IHSA used chip timing in the bibs that the athletes were wearing. “Looking at my notes from when I attended in 2010, I clearly wrote, "Bibs will be allowed to be worn lower when chip in bib technology is used,” said Whitney Young Coach Bob Geiger. He attended the 2010 meeting as a representative of ITCCCA.

In researching this subject, there were so many different scenarios that were thrown at me about chip timing on the feet compared to chip timing in the bibs. According to Adkins, all four of the mats at the finish line were working for all six races. None of the video cameras at the finish line were malfunctioning through each of the finishes of the race.

“The issue with the bib tags using any system is they are not 100%,” Adkins added. “We have gotten to the point where the shoe tags that we use are close to 100% accuracy.”

“Purely in terms of which functions better, I think it's a toss-up.  No two chips read at exactly the same distance from the mats - shoe chips are designed to read at a shorter distance from the mat than the bib chips, so in that regard they may be slightly more accurate.  But with the IHSA rule that the runner's torso dictates the finish order (note that this is different than the National High School Federation rule for cross country), a complete video review is necessary using either the shoe chip or the bib chip,” said Alan Edgecombe, the CEO of Real Timing Inc. “I timed the Waubonsie Valley Sectional and after the IHSA officials reviewed the finish line video, there were only two finisher order reversals in the girls race and there were none in the boys race.  I think that speaks very highly for the shoe chip.  I don't know how many finish order reversals there were at the State Meet, but I would suspect that there were more simply because the rate of finishers across the finish mats is higher in the State Meet with the increased level of the competition.”

“I would go with bibs before feet,” said Brad Henz, co-owner of RC Race Management. “When it comes to a tie it is all by chest and using bib chips allow for a more accurate finish.  Plus shoe chips can get muddy or spiked which could lead to misreads.”

The blue mats serve as antennas in regards to reading the information from the chips. The closer to the ground, the easier the information is picked up. If bib chips are used, then wouldn’t it make sense to wear the bibs lower on the singlet? Adkins did say that it would be possible to wear the bibs lower. “It would be a little tougher to read the numbers during the video review,” Adkins said. “We would be able to do it however.”

If the IHSA goes with the bib chips in future state meet events, perhaps try something different. When wearing the bib chips on the shoes, the runner would always be wearing a chip on each shoe. There would always be a back-up if one chip would not read or fall off. What kind of back-up is there when there is only one chip in the front of the bib? It would cost more money for the IHSA, but what about putting a chip in the back bib as well?

Watching the NCAA Championships over the following weekend, results were posted almost immediately. Adkins was a part of the timing crew that was in Terre Haute for the Division I Championships. Even though there were adverse conditions with a heavily saturated course, the results that came from the two races that were contested were almost flawless. Within five minutes of the last runner crossing the finish line, team results were being posted on the video screens by the finish area. The results were unofficial, but they were still out there for the public. The technology is there for the IHSA to do this. It would make the meet a little more fan friendly. The question is would the IHSA pony up the money to do this or will they remain in the stone ages when it comes to the way that they present the results? I think we know what the answer is.

So what do we do?

The one thing that has become more evident to me is that more and more coaches in Illinois are afraid of the IHSA. It showed in the responses that I received from them asking me not to mention their names. They are afraid of retribution that may occur to them or their school.

Cross Country and Track & Field in the state of Illinois has become less about the people that participate in the sports (coaches and student/athletes) and more about the officials that run them. I sent an e-mail to Ron McGraw on November 12. I wrote:

“Could you give me the official explanation with the timing problems and results delays on Saturday? I know the squirrel started it with the power outage and all. I know when I was shooting video, I was having problems with the sun as well. Were there any back-up generators that the IHSA was using? Why the decision to hold the 1A Boys race at 10:00 AM instead of moving it back?”

As of to this day, I have not received a response from McGraw or the IHSA. I was hoping for a response.

It bugs me more that when the IHSA makes a mistake, they will not admit it or address it publically. We are all human. We all make mistakes. The problem with this organization is they cannot admit it. The decision that McGraw made in speeding the 2013 Boys State Track Meet up was a mistake. It made a controversy of the check-ins for the Boys Meet. When the track advisory committee met on September 11, it was mentioned in the committee meeting notes that some subjects on their list were discussed, some were not. According to a couple of coaches that were in that room on that day, the subject of the check-ins were never discussed. The IHSA sees a problem, then puts their head in the sand ignoring the situation. I guarantee you, we will have the same problems when the meet takes place in 2014.

If we keep the same thinking heading into the Cross Country advisory committee meeting in December, what happened at Detweiller Park will be ignored. They will state that the decision that was made was the correct one and it was the coach’s fault for not getting to the awards on time. It’s never the IHSA’s fault. They never make a mistake.

The one thing that I was reminded when doing research for this was that though the IHSA Coaches Advisory Committee can make suggestions to McGraw and the IHSA on the state meet, it is up to McGraw and the meet manager Chris Perry to make those decisions. I had one coach post this on my facebook page:

“The problem with pushing for change in this matter is that the IHSA calls the wearing of the bibs high, a meet management decision, not an advisory board decision. Hence, we as a coaches committee or as an advisory board member, have no say in the process of managing the meet. Those decisions lie in the hands of Chris Perry, and Ron McGraw. Outside input in this matter is not taken into advisement.”

In simple terms, it will be run the way that they see fit. Why takes suggestions from people that are knowledgeable about the sport? The IHSA has its agenda, in my view it is twisted in most aspects, and they will do what they think is best for the sport. The advisory committee needs to have more of a say in how the meets are run off. You never know. There could be some good ideas coming from the coaches in that group. The question would be if the IHSA would listen to those suggestions and take serious consideration of the ideas presented before them? Do you think that would happen?

In the article that I wrote at the end of the track season (Newms Notes: Reflections of a State Meet; Jun 13, 2013), I stated at the end of the article that it was perhaps a time for an attitude change. Almost six months later, the same arrogant attitude from the IHSA remains.

I know in a leadership role, a manager is chosen to make the tough decisions that no one else will make. It is in those times of making those decisions is when you grow from them. I can say that I did not make the best decisions initially, but you learn from your mistakes and make sure that you do not do it again. You also take responsibility for your mistakes. You are the leader. Regardless if mistakes are made by the people that are working for you, blame and responsibility fall with the leader. The buck stops at the top.

If you look back at the last two state meets (Boys Track and Cross Country), we can see that the problems continue. The magnitude of those problems continue to grow. It was the coach’s fault for the inconsistency of the check in’s at the clerk’s tent, not the knee jerk reaction for speeding up the meet. It was the sun and the color of the numbers that was the problem with the results being delayed, not the knee jerk reaction of keeping the meet on schedule when common sense would dictate in moving the races back to keep that one hour window between events.

I mentioned that it was time for a change in attitude. I think it needs to be with the parents that watch the races. I think it needs to be with coach and their staffs that teach within the boundaries of Illinois. I think it needs to be the fans that watch the races and notice that the competitions that they attend is no longer about the coaches and athletes but the officials that run them.

There are some great officials that are out there that believe in the principles of the sport. There are some that have risen to the top that have forgotten those principles and have been corrupted by the power that has been given to them.

There needs to be a change at the top. There needs to be a change for who is directing these sports within the IHSA. There needs to be a change for those men that actually are the directors of the championship meets. There will never be a change of attitude with those who are in charge right now. History dictates that. It now time for a change to put people who are in touch with what is going on within the sport. It is time for new blood.

Those are the only answers. I have spent the last two weeks debating this inside of my head. These were the best alternatives.

If you write to the IHSA, they will respond to you that they appreciate your letter. They will respond to you that they will take your letters under advisement. In my case, they did not respond. It is easier in their eyes to ignore the situation. Maybe it will go away?

It’s time to stop running scared. It is time to let the principals of your school know of what is happening. It is time to let the athletic directors know of you discontent. I would let the IHSA know as well. You can find the e-mail addresses on ihsa.org.

I am only a fan who covers this sport. I have been connected with Illinois running for 37 years now. I have never seen it this bad. Some action needs to take place. It cannot be one person that pushes for the change. It has to be those who are coaching, running, and watching the sport in this state. We cannot leave another state meet with a bad taste in our mouth in the way the meet was run instead of remembering the great performances.