Cross Country for Delaware High Schools came to an end last Saturday. The usual suspects took home the trophies.
Tatnall in girls Division II
Padua in girls Division I
Salesianum in boys Division I
Archmere in boys Division II
Padua in girls Division I
Salesianum in boys Division I
Archmere in boys Division II
No surprises here. The best teams won their respective divisions. After a down year last year, Sallies has resoundingly rebounded to claim its usual place atop the Division I standings. Tatnall, Padua and Archmere do their usual thing in crushing lesser opponents. The same thing they do every year.
Of course, what would be a Delaware State Championship without a little controversy? As reported on the milesplit national site, Tatnall went 1-5 in the race. One small problem. They didn’t go 1-5. They went 1-4, and then 6. A girl from St. Andrews actually got 5th, but for some reason was disqualified because she supposedly “impeded” Tatnall's #5 girl. If you were there and saw it, you’d know no such thing happened. The St. Andrews girl had position in front of the Tatnall runner so there was no “impediment”. It’s a shame, but par for the course, sadly. What would a Delaware State Championship in cross country or track be without someone getting DQ’d? Tatnall is a great team and the greatest girls team Delaware has ever seen. It’s too bad somebody had to put this spot on their total dominance of the meet and season. As amazing as 1-5 is, I’m sure they’d rather have gotten it without the "help" of officiating.
The state should really look into having separate state championships for private and public schools. Of course the teams who can have kids from several states and counties within the state are going to out perform public schools who can only get athletes from a strictly defined area. It's a shame that DIAA allows the playing field to be so slanted in favor of the private schools in athletics here in Delaware.
After the separate state championships, there could be a Meet of Champions. It would be awesome to see the top schools and runners from the entire state in one meet to decide who the absolute best is. This isn't rocket science. Why hasn't this been done already?
Speaking of disparities: It was raining at the state meet this past Saturday. Thankfully, it stopped about and hour and a half before the races started. But what if it had not? Does DIAA think that every school can afford their own tents? What about the teams that couldn't? Apparently, because the park attendant at White Clay is a cold hearted jerk, whether a team had a tent or not, they couldn't seek shelter under the pavilion at White Clay.
According to the park attendant, it wasn't his problem if a team was going to get soaked in the rain. They "should have come prepared". Really? That's how you treat high school student athletes? Is that how the State of Delaware treats student athletes trying to be productive with their time and participate in high school athletics?
Anyway, just a heads up to all the high schools out there, you better have a tent if you're going to go to White Clay in the future in case of rain, because, if you don't, don't expect to find cover at White Clay. Concession stands are more important. On top of that, "it's not their problem!"
P.S. Start raising funds now for next year's county race, too. It probably won't be as hot as it was this year, so you'll probably need a tent. Better have $100. Must be nice to just have a hundred bucks lying around. Whatever happened to a level playing field? Must have gotten washed away with the rain.