Before getting started, being an official can be difficult. Think of the 4×100. Is it really possible to watch 8 exchange zones at the same time? In this case, think of other sports, where you have a specific role for a few seconds or you are following the ball. In track, with this 500, there is an entire track, so how do you know an incident like this would even happen? The rest of the meet happened without incident. Also, we now have 20/20 hindsight of reviewing the video and considering different items. This, though, will be revisited.
The race
As I was filming the 500, it seemed clear what happened in real time.
The South River runner was bumped, which forced him to shorten his stride.  He put his hand on the North County runner to maintain balance, and then the North County runner fell. From above it appeared to be incidental contact. In the moment, the fairest thing seemed to be to let the North County athlete run again. I thought there was no way he could qualify having to rerun the race alone. However, he did, and I was impressed.
Yet, I was extremely confused at the end of the meet when I was down by the timer’s table and the Broadneck coach was very frustrated. The head official said, “I didn’t see it.” I left still confused thinking nothing about the 500 because the Broadneck runner had nothing to do with the event that occurred.
The Video
While the fall happens around 5:00, start the video at 4:30 because it will come into play later. As you watch, please subscribe, as it is free. This is a free service to the track community, so the easiest way to support is to subscribe to the channel.
The Actual DQ
If there had to be a DQ, in reality, the North County runner should have been DQed. The South River athlete came off the turn leading the race. It is the passing runner’s responsibility to pass without impeding anyone. At 5:00, you can see the SR runner is in lane 1, and the North County runner steps into lane 1 and impedes his progress. It was incidental contact and not a push hard enough to cause that hard of a fall. Still, kudos to NC finishing the race, which gave him a chance to have a rerun. Now, these are high school kids, so I am not bashing the NC runner. I am just looking at the situation.
A non defense of officials
As you watched the race, did you see any officials in position to make a call? The point of going back to 4:30 is it gives you 2 shots of seeing the finish line and in neither shots, do you see an official in position to make the call. There is an official watching the race by the long jump pit, but he does not appear to be assigned to the race or in position to make a call during the race. This call was made by an official not in position to make the call. There should be officials around all the turns looking for this. At the regional meets, 15 officials are assigned, and 4 should be assigned to the turns. The head official is not watching when the incident occurs, and we now have an official not in proper position making a call. There should have been an official at the turn making the call. If the only official that we see in the video is watching the race, he is on the inside, and the Broadneck runner is on the outside. So the official on the inside would see the baby blue on the inside. This was a call made because it felt like there had to be a call made.
Also think of the few DQs that happen during the season, then think of the uptick of DQs that happen during championship season. There is not a consistent application of the rules. If this were a regular invite, there would be no call. Even in this case, I wouldn’t expect an official to see this. You don’t know this is coming even if you are in position. But still, if you don’t see it, then you don’t see it.
NFHS Rule
Here is the DQ assigned to the Broadneck Runner
“5-9-1 – Interference is any action by a competitor that unfairly changes the course or natural running rhythm of a competitor during a race. This may include bumping, tripping or running across the competitor’s path. PENALTY: Disqualification from event.”
The solution
This is a very simple fix, and it is beyond me why the MPSSAA refuses to do anything about it. Firstly, there should have been a non call. If you didn’t see it or weren’t in proper positi on to call it, just claim ignorance instead of making the wrong call. Here is a simple life lesson. “I made a mistake. I will correct it.” This is a decision that costs 0 dollars and takes 0 minutes.
The MPSSAA must reinstate the Broadneck athlete effective immediate in the spirit of competition.
It is so ordered.
Mary Decker 1984
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0vxAk6XsLU
Capital Gazette Article
Entire 4A East Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTJHDMk2AEA&list=PLqrXWWxYp6ua_GU1ecqspAgv1FJbqtDeC