Midpark has the three best pole vaulters in the state based on marks thus far, and one is going to need a ticket to enter the district meet.
View full sizeMidpark senior Branson Repasy says he'll be happy for teammate Jerry Hopkins if he gets the district meet berth. MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio – Midpark seniors Jerry Hopkins and Branson Repasy have established themselves as two of the very best pole vaulters in Ohio, and one of them will be denied an opportunity to prove it.
Such is the nature of Ohio high school track and field.
Hopkins and Repasy both have cleared 15 feet this spring, the watermark height for elite vaulters. It has been good enough to place between second and sixth at the last five Division I state meets. Their 15-0 marks currently tie them for second-best in Ohio among Division I vaulters.
At the district meets, which begin in three weeks, each school is limited to two athletes per event. So, what's the problem?
Hopkins and Repasy happen to be on the same team as Ohio's No. 1 vaulter, senior Aaron Owens, who has cleared 16-1. That gives Midpark the three best in the state based on marks thus far, and one is going to need a ticket to enter the district meet. Owens, the returning state runner-up, has one of the spots locked up, Midpark vault coach Jamie Fleming said.
“That's so ridiculous how me, Branson and Aaron are technically 1-2 in the state right now with the best heights, and yet one of us isn't going to be able to go,'' Hopkins said. “That makes no sense whatsoever.''
It's a situation that could be avoided if a different qualification system was utilized by the Ohio High School Athletic Association and the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches, which makes recommendations to the OHSAA. This isn't the first time the issue has come up.
“Have we thought about it? Yes. Have we done anything about it? No,'' said former St. Ignatius athletic director Dale Gabor, who serves as the OATCCC's liaison to the OHSAA, and is OHSAA Director of Cross County and Track and Field. Gabor said it would require a “dramatic turnaround” to change the qualification and advancement procedure. He said Northeast Ohio routinely does a good job of advancing the best athletes because it has 13 district sites for three divisions, and the top four in each event earn regional berths.
The situation with Midpark's vaulters is rare, but it can be avoided. The OHSAA doesn't need to adopt a major overhaul, as some coaches have proposed with regard to qualifying standards across the board. A safety net should be put in place. At-large district berths can be created with performance standards to allow for additional district entries for schools with more than two elite athletes. The standards can be altered annually, but should reflect the best marks in the state from the previous season as well as the current season.
Some examples: 14-6 in the Division I boys pole vault, sub-4:25 in the boys 1,600, and sub-58 seconds in the girls 400.
Those standards would not burden the district meets with excessive entries, but in an era when specialization is increasing and some schools have become distance, sprint or field event hotbeds, the standards would assure the state's best get a chance to prove it.
“There shouldn't be a limit on the skill set you have at one school,'' Hopkins said.
The Midpark trio twice set the state vault relay record this season, but there's more than just good vaulters bringing pride to the otherwise sad final weeks of a school that is about to close and merge with Berea. Hopkins and Repasy have displayed remarkable grace while competing against each other to be a state place-winner for the first time.
“I've been thinking about this a lot,'' Repasy said. “I'm going up against my best friend, Jerry. Either way, I'll be happy. I know both of us deserve to go, but we can't always get what we want, I guess.''
Said Hopkins, “Branson is like my brother. It will be hard not to share that experience with each other, all of us going down to state together in the last year for Midpark.''