State XC Course Measurement
Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:20 pm
It should have been obvious to anyone watching the Jansen invite in Valley City yesterday that the courses were well short of the stated distances. I'm kicking myself for not getting a wheel on it yesterday when I had the chance. Based on a quick analysis, I would estimate, conservatively, the 5K course was 40 seconds short, approximately 200m. Looking at boys and girls results from across the state, both by time and head-to-head against their peers, it appears it could be as much as 300 meters short!
I don't know if the NDSHSAA has a different approach to certifying the courses prior to state competitions, but I certainly hope they do. If the course isn't measured to a legitimate 5000m and it stays the same as it was yesterday, there are going to be a lot of excited coaches, tons of new personal and school records, and North Dakota could see winning times in the 16s for girls and 14s on the boys side.
I'm also curious to see how rankings will be affected by this situation. Yesterday, Emily Goldade ran 17:54 (2) and Lindsay Werner (7) ran 18:54, both of which were faster than Kelby Rinas 18:59 (1), Rachel Torrey 19:49 (3), Alexis Roehl 20:21 (4), and Mikayla Weiss 20:44 (6) ran at Griak. Just two weeks ago, Rinas dominated Werner by 1:06 and Goldade by 1:26 head-to-head at the Mandan Kiwanis meet. If these times are taken at face value, there is going to be a serious shake up in the rankings this week.
Looking forward to the replies on this one!
I don't know if the NDSHSAA has a different approach to certifying the courses prior to state competitions, but I certainly hope they do. If the course isn't measured to a legitimate 5000m and it stays the same as it was yesterday, there are going to be a lot of excited coaches, tons of new personal and school records, and North Dakota could see winning times in the 16s for girls and 14s on the boys side.
I'm also curious to see how rankings will be affected by this situation. Yesterday, Emily Goldade ran 17:54 (2) and Lindsay Werner (7) ran 18:54, both of which were faster than Kelby Rinas 18:59 (1), Rachel Torrey 19:49 (3), Alexis Roehl 20:21 (4), and Mikayla Weiss 20:44 (6) ran at Griak. Just two weeks ago, Rinas dominated Werner by 1:06 and Goldade by 1:26 head-to-head at the Mandan Kiwanis meet. If these times are taken at face value, there is going to be a serious shake up in the rankings this week.
Looking forward to the replies on this one!