MONDAY MORNING FINISH LINE

 

September 12, 2022

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

WRITER’S NOTE - The following story reflects the feelings of the writer, Michael Newman and does not reflect the thoughts of Athletic.Net, DyeStat.com, or RunnerSpace.com.

 

It took a few people with some careless actions a couple of years ago that has started a domino effect that just takes this sport down a road that we should not be traveling on.

 

I was driving Saturday in the early morning hours listening to music while having a discussion about this with myself. I was informed the IHSA had released the Cross Country Sectional assignments for the 2022 season the day before. It was a frustrating talk with my inner self.

 

It was released on a Friday afternoon close to 5:40 PM. IHSA Offices were closed for the weekend. Those were my opening thoughts as I opened up the link on the IHSA website. I started to look in amazement. The IHSA is “taking out the trash”. Maybe it was a coincidence.

 

It is a term that is used in business and in government. Take a news release, publicize it on a Friday afternoon going into a weekend where you try to bury the implications of the statement you are releasing. The proper definition of this term is:

 

“to announce something, hoping it will not get much publicity, at a time when it is not likely to be noticed by the news media, for instance on election day or late on Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend.”

 

A friend sent me a message close to 8PM on that Friday. “There is no way my team is going to make it out of my sectional,” they told me.

 

It was just sitting there for two hours hardly anyone seeing it. Coaches, media were focusing on big meets the next day, so the concentration was not on sectional assignments but on their teams.

 

I thought last year was bad when assignments came out. I was thinking at the beginning of the month the IHSA had learned their lesson. It just could not happen again. It did happen.

 

For the IHSA, it is all about regional representation when the organization sets up sectional, regional assignments. I can understand why this is done.

 

Who cares if good teams deserve to make it to a state meet are put in a regional where some teams, some runners will not get a chance to fulfill their dreams. Don’t fully blame the IHSA on all of this. The advisory committee in 2020 made the recommendation of where we are at now. The IHSA accepted it.

 

The IHSA’s criteria for determining sectional assignments is through Policy 19. One of the things that is said in this is:

 

“The State Series is designed to determine a State Champion. The State Series is not

intended to necessarily advance the best teams in the state to the State Final.”

 

You can read more of the IHSA thinking of setting us State Qualifying in their Policy 19 which can be viewed here.

 

Honestly, the problems that we have seen in the process of the IHSA setting up XC Sectional assignments have ballooned. Before the Advisory Committee met on January 8, 2020, there was not a problem organizing sectional assignments. Teams that were traditionally highly ranked teams were distributed throughout the five sectionals in Class 3A and Class 2A. The major area of concern before that meeting was that regional meets were becoming too easy is most sectional complexes.

 

There were many discussions on how changes should be made. Some thought that the elimination of regional qualifying meets would be a good thing to do. That was not going to happen. There was a belief through the majority coaches throughout the state that keeping five sectionals would make sense. Thought was you still would be able to get the top teams down to the state meet. The question was the regionals. Maybe cutting that from three regionals to two regionals and increasing the qualifying teams from six teams to nine teams would still get 18 teams to a sectional meet, but also, the importance of regional meets would increase.

 

I had a coach on January 8, 2020, call me and ask if I had heard what had happened in the advisory committee meeting. I told the coach that I had not which was kind of unusual. There is some buzz that usually comes out of this meeting that is talked about OFF THE RECORD. Nothing about what happened. The coach started calling his contacts. I called one of the members of the committee.

 

That committee member was excited of what happened as he told me the details. We will have more teams and runners in the state meet. We will be going from 25 teams to 28 teams. It meant to 50 or more runners through teams and individuals would be running at state from those classes. Class 1A increased from 25 teams to 28 teams. He was rattling off facts of the top of his head. It was ingrained in their mind.

 

I asked how this would be done. Class 1A would not be affected keeping their sectionals at five. Class 2A and 3A sectionals. Would be cut one sectional going from five sectionals to four sectionals but increasing the qualifying teams from five qualifiers to seven.

 

I was thinking well this is not too bad.

 

I asked the committee member this: “The main problem this year was the question of the regionals. How many regionals would there be now with less sectionals?”

 

There was silence at the end of the line for a second. “I’ll have to get back to you on that. I don’t have my notes in front of me.”

 

Uh oh. That did not sound good. They had to go now from the phone call. So, did I.

 

My coach friend called me back. He had talked to someone who was in the know of about what happened. “Only three regionals, Mike,” the coach told me. “They kept the qualifying teams at six instead of increasing to seven teams advancing to sectionals. It meant close to 20% less runners would advance to the following week.”

 

An anonymous IHSA representative later admitted that the committee did not think of that aspect of what they had decided on.

 

We look back now almost three years later and those “blind” decisions are causing harm to the sport. (Read the January 8, 2020, notes here)

 

There are three (maybe four) areas in the country that are hotbeds for high school distance running historically over the past 30 to 40 years.

 

The first is the Southern Section in California. So many great teams, runners have come from that area including great programs such as Great Oak and Newbury Park.

 

The second is the Second and Third Sections in New York. You can’t dispute the success of Saratoga Springs and Fayetteville-Manlius has had in both the Boys and Girls programs in those schools. It has rubbed off to other teams, runners in their area.

 

There are other areas that are growing including an area in Utah and in the Denver (I-25) corridor of the state. Utah has the influence now of Timo Mostert, who ran at Champaign Central and now coaches at American Fork. Herriman is improving. One of the reasons is that former Great Oak coach Doug Soles coaches there now.

 

The section of the country that has continued to have influence is the West Suburban area outside of Chicago. Three conferences have had a say in that with the WSC-Silver, the DuPage Valley Conference, and now the DuKane Conference. This area is rich in coaching minds and has rubbed off on the runners that compete for those schools and their coaches.

 

Why do I mention all of that?

 

There are two areas within Illinois that have been powerhouses in state meets over the past two decades. In Class 3A, it has been that West Suburban area. In Class 2A, it is the North Suburban area that stretches near Belvidere east to Lake Michigan.

 

There was not this problem when we had five sectionals. In Class 2A, you would have three sectionals where you could distribute the wealth so to speak leveling out the play field while at the same time staying within the IHSA Policy 19 of equal regional representation. The same held true in Class 3A before the January 8, 2020, meeting.

 

We are now at four sectionals in Class 2A and 3A. You do not have the complaining from Class 1A because you still have five sectionals with six teams qualifying. That is how it should be in the two bigger classes. We should forget that Class 1A has 40% of the Cross Country Schools in their classification. Look at their size though. Equal representation should happen throughout all three classes.

 

Where are we at now in a real world with four sectionals? The IHSA is handcuffed on what they can do In regard to sectional assignments. We saw that when the assignments rolled out. In the 3A Hinsdale Central Regional alone, eight teams that are ranked in that sectional. Two good teams will not run together at Waubonsie Valley the following week.

 

The idea is getting the deserving teams to Peoria. It is not leaving those teams at home on the first weekend in November. This can be done.

 

Remember, the IHSA is not concerned on a setting up a state meet that has the best teams. Policy 19. Making change can do this while staying within the Policy 19 principle.

 

One of the biggest things that I have seen that have been the most troublesome in this sport. More and more schools are having a say on where other schools are being sent for regional and sectionals.

 

In Class 2A, there was a sectional that had not been assigned to any school. A school stepped up to host that regional. Social media was a flame on this. How could schools in the Northern Section funnel down to one of the three regionals (all central Chicago area located) be funneled down so that they could compete at Deerfield.

 

There were weeks that there was no change. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall of the supposed conversations between schools in that area and the IHSA to do something.

 

Finally, regional sites were switched from one sectional to another. Schools in the northern section were happy. Schools that have been assigned to Hinsdale South, formally in the Deerfield Sectional, will have a tougher road of qualifying out of the Kaneland Sectional.

 

The more openings for opportunities to host when more capable schools will not, then you have things happening like we saw in Class 3A. Addison Trail and York are separated by six miles and were in the same regional last year. This year, the two schools are going in different directions.

 

I had friends from two areas of the country contact me yesterday asking what was going on with Illinois Cross Country. It just does not happen in our states they told me.

 

You just can’t have what is happening now in Illinois. Less schools volunteering to host because of cost leads to what we have now. More schools are dictating to the IHSA by hosting where they should go. Makes them and their programs look good. The IHSA state series is supposed to be educational for our students. What are they learning from all of this.

 

In other states, there is no drama when state series assignments are released. In Illinois, the anticipation of the release of the assignments causes ulcers. It seems that we thrive for the drama of the moment. Then we go on social media and let our voice be heard. It is not healthy. It is not healthy for this sport that we love.

 

There has to be more stability brought back in our sport. The definition of static is: “lacking in movement, action, or change, especially in a way viewed as undesirable or uninteresting.” That is where we need to go in cross country in this state.

 

The changing of five sectionals to four sectionals is a blunder of biblical proportions. The IHSA needs to step back from where we are to where we were. Can we repeal actions of an advisory committee?

 

Make all three classes have five sectionals. Have those five sectionals advance six schools to the state meet. There are three regionals in each of the three classes. Cut that number down to two regionals per classification. In those regionals, advance 9 to 10 schools to the corresponding sectionals. It would cut down 1 school per sectional in 1A. In some cases, in the 1A regionals, you do not have 7 teams advancing to sectionals.

 

I like the idea of 10 individual runners not on a qualifying team advance to the state meet. Keep that in state qualifications. We have five individuals that advance out of regionals. With the cutdown of regionals, maybe increase that number from 5 runners to 7 runners per regional.

 

That is what I would propose. I would also do this.

 

Sectionals where sites do not change. I propose that we have a set assignments for each sectional. That does not change. You have set sectionals that do not change that have showed traditionally that they can run an efficient sectional / regional meet. That makes it fairer for the runners.

 

In Ohio, for example, they do have district meets that cross over through classification. There are less sites overall in the state. At the same time, costs go down in running this state competition. Let’s set up something like this. It is possible to maybe do something like this in regionals where there could be super sites with three classes. With sectionals, have at the most two classes per sectional. Cut down the cost that way.

 

We need to form a committee through ITCCCA. Have coaches that have experience help the IHSA with dirty work. Have those coaches help set up these sectionals and get commitments from coaches to host. They know who could host the best. It would mean contacting Athletic Directors to explain the process. We have smart people involved in this sport in the state. Let’s use those resources even more than we do know.

 

If I ruffled any feathers in this, well this is how I feel. We need to get angry of where we are at right now and do something. Not complain to me but find solutions to the problems.

 

Advocating change sometimes will make people angry. My passion is deep in this sport as you all know. If I made you angry, I would be lying if I said I was sorry.

 

Note: October 1, 2022

You could call it a cynical narrative. That is what some said after this was originally published not mentioning me by name. Sometimes the truth can be cynical. You have to wake up and realize what is going on around you. Being cynical will bring out the truth. The fools that used that term do not understand that.

 

I hate having to write about this every year at this time. I cannot go through what I went through the days after this was published. So, coaches of Illinois, you are on your own. I have been forwarded some things to publish about this subject. I won’t. My health is more important.

 

See you on a cross-country course soon.