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Molly should live in New Jersey, says Ed Grant
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What about Shalane Flanagan in 2000?
from officials of the Millrose Games
NEW YORK 1/30/02 - Molly Huddle, the current U.S. high school leader
in the mile, will not be allowed to participate in the Millrose
Games on Friday. The ruling came earlier this week from the New
York State Public High School Athletic Association. Several discussions
on the subject took place over the past few days in an effort to
resolve the situation. Principals in those discussions were Howard
Schmertz (Millrose Games Meet Director), Jim Spier (Girls' Mile
Selection Committee Chairman), Dr. Robert Huddle (Molly's father),
and state association officials.
The issue has to do with Molly not being a member of her high
school team. Only those who are legitimate members of their team
can compete in state sanctioned events without running the risk
jeopardizing their eligibility for the balance of the year. Molly's
high school, Notre Dame of Elmira, NY, does not have a high school
indoor team, thus precluding her participation (a "catch 22"
situation, it seems).
The case of Shola Lynch was cited. Shola ran for Hunter College
High School in New York City in the eighties. They did not field
a high school team then. At that time, Shola was one of the best
runners in the country. The New York City governing body, the Public
Schools Athletic League (PSAL), ruled that because of that particular
"catch 22" situation (similarly, no high school team for
which to run), she would be allowed to participate in the Millrose
Girls' Mile. In response to this example, Jim Spier was advised
that the PSAL was a separate governing body with separate rules
from the state association; their rules and precedents would not
necessarily apply to that of the NYSPHSAA.
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from New York coaches:
Coach 1:
Your story regarding Molly Huddle not competing in the Millrose
Games may not be accurate in one aspect ... Elmira Notre Dame does
indeed have an indoor track team this season (both boys and girls)
- I've personally watched them compete in several meets.
At one of the meets, I talked to Larry Glanton (Trumansburg coach
who is the coordinator for NY Section IV indoor track) about Molly
... he said Molly was barred from competing in the NY State Indoor
Meet because Elmira Notre Dame's league (IAC) forbids athletes from
competing in two sports in the same season, and Molly was already
a member of the Elmira Notre Dame basketball team.
Some concern has been expressed by a few NY track coaches about
their track athletes competing against an unsanctioned runner (Molly
in this case) in a sanctioned high school meet.
That's all I know about this situation.
Coach 2:
Just a word on the Huddle situation. Her Section (section 4) does
not allow an athlete to do two sports during the same season. Since
she is playing basketball, she cannot represent the school in a
track meet. If she wasn't playing basketball I am pretty sure that
the school and state association would
have allowed her to run.
more from Coach 2:
They can't bar them (athletes) from competing as an individual,
as she did in the finger lakes meet.
The problem arises when the millrose games gets a national federation
sanction and calls the event an official hs event. Then each participant
must be a member of their school team and must abide by all rules
such as medical physical, practice days, limitations on meets per
week and season, etc... When they don't have this sanction some
states won't allow their athletes to come and run.
The Millrose Games policy on the
HS miles states: "These are 'scholastic' events, sanctioned
by National Federation of State High School Associations, as well
as the State of New York, and as
such, all competitors must represent, and wear a singlet that so
identifies them with, their school."
As far as I know they (Notre Dame) don't have an indoor track team.
They didn't have a XC team before this year either, but they started
one just for her and I think that she was the only one on the team.
I would assume that they would have done the same for indoor if
she wanted to, but she probably wanted to be on the basketball team.
Her area of the state (Section 4) does
not allow an athlete to do two sports during the same season.
Millrose official 1:
Molly quit basketball 10 days ago so the 2 team thing is not the
issue. I was not aware that Elmira Notre Dame had an indoor team
... I was told otherwise.
She should live in New Jersey, says Ed Grant
[Editor's Note: Ed Grant is the dean of track writers in
New Jersey, having covered the sport for more than half a century.]
Netters:
Too bad Molly doesn't go to a NJ school.
In our state, a school does not have to have a "formal"
indoor team
for its athletes to participate. Case in point this year: Lindsay
Van
Alstine of Hawthorne Christian, a one-girl team in CC ran in our
state meet
recently (as well as in the Passaic County meet and several invitationals)
The rule here is that, as long as the principal signs the entry
and
she is accompanied by a "coach," (Lindsay's coach is her
father), it's OK
But we have gone even further than that. When Jodie Bilotta was
in
school she was not a member of the Hunterdon central team indoors,
yet
competed in both the Millrose Mile and the 1K at the old Meadowlands
meet on
a principal's signature---even though NH had a team (of which Anne
Marie
Letko was a member).
And there was the year when NH had a "club" team for
girls, but no
boys team. The girls coach brought Andy Martin and Brad Hudson to
the state
meet, they went 1-2 in the 3200 and then went home. When the meet
was over,
those points were enough to win the team title.
New York, both on the state and PSAL level, has always been a
stickler about these things. When Bill McClellon was at De Witt
Clinton
clearing 7 feet in HS meets, he was invited to the Millrose Games,
but the
PSAL refused to allow him to compete. (That rule has since been
eased to
accommodate "special cases," of which the PSAL unfortunately
has so few these
days.
Meanwhile, as many as a dozen NJ athletes have so competed over
the
years: Milt Campbell, the late Aubrey Lewis, Marty Liquori, Bill
Gaines
(who won two national AAU 55M titles when in HS and this in the
midst of the
NCAA-AAU battle), Renaldo Nehemiah, Carol Lewis, Wendy Vereen, Dawn
Bowles,
to name just a few.
Ed Grant
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from an observor on t-and-f mailing list:
This decision is typical of the asinine rules makers in NY. These
people continually make decisions, in all sports, that have noting
to do
with the best interests of the student-athletes they supposedly
represent. A basketball exhibition to raise money for Lupus was
almost
canned for similar reasons, even when it was completely out of season
and had nothing to do with kids competing for their HS, it was an
all-star game.
These people really need to retire!
========
What about Shalane Flanagan in 2000?
from a former Massachusetts coach
It seems like there is not clear information on her ability to
participate as
a "bona-fide high school athlete" for the winter season.
IF she is/was on
her basketball team and the St. Assn. has rules on only one sport
per season
(as does MASS) then she is out. She, her coach and her parents must
have
known this and still tried to circumvent the rule.
But Millrose has not followed this in the past. IF they have had
a Natl. HS
Sanction then they (Millrose) were in violation several years ago
when they
invited Shalane Flanagan (Marblehead, MA) to compete. Shalane never
ran
indoor track in her life till she got to NC. She wore her HS uniform
in the
Millrose Games (which was a violation of the Natl and MA rules),
and yet
nothing was said or done about her. It seems that everyone looked
the other
way. Looking the other way has probably happened before, but the
NY boards
will not let it happen in their backyard.
It is too bad she can't run. IF she was planning on Millrose she
should not
have gone out for basketball (if she did plap basketball). She had
to make a
choice.
Millrose Games 2002
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