Sunday,
April 23, 2006
Dear Track & Field Fans:
Sorry
for the delay in the release of the results from the Morgantown High / WVU
Track & Field Invitational. Despite
the rain in the morning there were some great performances at the meet on
Saturday. One race that stands out in my
mind was the Boys HS 100m final. It was a very fast race and a tight finish
between Brent Hammer from Elkins HS and Slope Brown from Jefferson HS. When the excitement of the day was over and I
was preparing to send out the results, I realized just how fast the times were
in the final. During the meet the
results that were posted read Hammer 10:49 and Brown 10.50, which would have
been the 2nd and 3rd fastest time ever run by WV High
School athletes. I do not wish to take
anything away from these athletes, but the finish-lynx system prematurely
started the clock (when the set command was given) and the final times that
were released on Saturday were an estimation of that premature start.
After consulting with the finish line staff this afternoon
(Sunday) we decided the best course of action to take was to convert the hand
times up. The 1 & 2 place hand
timers clocked the two athletes at 10.45 and 10.46. The official results are converted from those
hand times, Hammer 10.69 and Brown 10.70, and all the other finishers in the
race were given their official time by adding the difference in time between
them and Hammer’s finish on the finish-lynx picture to Hammer’s converted
time. (The differences between the
athletes are correct.) For those who
want to know the FAT difference between Hammer and Brown was .007 sec. The same scenario happened in college/open
100m race and the official results were calculated in the same manner. (.24 sec added to the hand time.)
In fairness to these athletes and track fans across the state,
I feel this explanation was in order and I apologize for the confusion. All other results from the meet are FAT
including the girls 100m finals where Breehana Jacobs from Laurel Highlands HS
(
I wish all the athletes continued success during the
remainder of the outdoor track season and I’m looking forward to seeing a
rematch between Hammer and Brown in the 100m finals at the State meet. Thanks to all the athletes, coaches and
volunteers that helped to make the first year of the Morgantown High / WVU Track
& Field Invitational a success.
Co-Meet Director
Head Boys’ Track & Field
Coach