(photo by Paul Vaupel)
After record setting September heat lasting thru Mid-October, as a heat wave continued to punish us this past Saturday at MS State, with it rising into the 90's with temps 15/20 degrees over normal. This 'heat' has given the GHSA pause, to strongly consider pushing back the start and end of the Cross Country season 2 weeks later for the safety of the athletes.. So, what do suddenly get now.. very nasty, cold, extremely windy (13-14 mph) and 85% chance of rain beginning at 4am Saturday and lasting throughout the day to begin 'Region Madness' This is going to be an extreme challenge for all involved.. If it were in Scotland (like in Chariots of Fire) conditions would be ideal I guess..
As a Timer, this pushback sounds great, and the PT Group, which is very busy timing Summer Track, will get a bit of a break now before the Fall XC season begins. My National Content Editor (who is out of New Jersey) told me in a conference call, their XC season has always began after Labor Day up north. When I was in HS (way back in the late 70's) school always began after Labor Day. How did we get to this point of starting school the first week of August? Enough about the heat, hope not to see your butt again till late April when Sectionals will be held.
Last Fall, we received results from every Region/Area meet but 2..(including the GISA) We hope to get all results from every Region and Area meet this Fall through the deadline of Saturday 10/26. Let me remind you, these results must be in the correct format to be able to post ASAP. Which means:
1- Hy-Tek meet manager- Flat HTML Only (NO PDF)
2- RaceTab meet manager- Flat HTML (NO PDF)
3- Excel Spreadsheet is okay, only if you do not have Hy-Tek and RaceTab meet manager
But, you must e-mail in the spreadsheet in to MileSplit (do not self post!) as it will need to be edited for posting/parsing results. and, we must know the race distance..
*We only need the following Columns for spreadsheet Results*
Place/ Full Name/ Team/Time (in this sequence left to right) and exactly as I have I named the columns..
We will strive to post results as fast as possible that are e-mailed in. Please be patient, as results will be posted the same day they are submitted. Timers like PT Group/Fast Feet, etc.. self post their results ASAP, after reviewing them for accuracy first.
There are many regions in the higher classes, where hearts will be broken and seasons ended after hundreds of miles of training. Its been this way for many years.. As our 'All-Class Ranker stated, "different teams have different approaches. You never know who will race all out and who will sit back for some reason." There will be NO Team Rankings until after all Region and Area Meets are in the books (Pre-State) So, no team rankings after this weekend..
The Madness Begins this Saturday in horrible cool, very windy, rainy conditions which will be miserable for all involved. Thanks Mother Nature, for this twisted stroke of irony after the brutal heat.. and race like "Hell on Wheels" for your team! Who will be punching their ticket to the State Championships this Fall ? Stay tuned..