The Final Ask MileStat Monday of The Year!

First, let me personally say thank you to all those who sent in questions and were an active part in making this type of thing a success. Though it is our last of the year, don't fret because it will be back next year! Once again thanks and let us know what you think about our answers!


MileStat, do you have any views as to how the regional meets (the ones that were canceled) have been handled? Any thoughts that might improve any way that cancellations are handled in the future?

by: Addison Roeschley

Addison, my answer is very multi-faceted. The short answer though is that I support the decisions made and think they were the best options in a sport that is very limited by facilities. Remember if basketball or football faced weather problems they have tons of options as back ups while indoor track has almost none... in fact we have so few that Maryland is where 20% of our meets are.

That being said, I feel that hosting meets together could help mitigate these type of things from happening and being so pervasive. 6A South faced it because they were sandwiched by other regional meets and couldn't reschedule... if 6A and 5A south were together, which would more resemble states, then we would have more days open to reschedule, in theory of course.


MileStat, since we did not have a conference meet and our regional meet was cancelled due to weather, how will the VHSL determine who is allowed into the state meet?

by: Coach Edwards

Coach, the unfortunate thing about it is that there are best practices and common sense solutions but no real rule that I am personally aware of for this situation. Obviously, if you meet any state standards you will advance but outside of that it would be up to the regional director to decide. Remember though that the regional director and regional meet director could be two different people. The regional director, or whatever their official title is, handles all the sports in that region.


MileStat, I am curious what do you see as the biggest problem in track and field today?

by: Anonymous

Anon, I believe there are four things that are a big problem in track and field today. The first of these is the notion that girls' athletics is less appealing then boys'. I completely understand that there is at times a visible gap in the performances between men and women but there is also a huge gap between college and high school athletes of the same gender but that somehow doesn't affect people's interest. It is only between men and women that you often see a drop in interest, though I feel T&F is on the lighter scale of this issue. I just can't believe anyone who says Weini Kelati vs. Libby Davidson isn't just as good or better then any male rivalry in our sport today.

The second problem is this notion that your ability or events of choice are based solely on your skin color. That is like saying having a certain eye color decides what event you should be good at. Ability to be good at an event comes from training, upbringing, and exposure... not the amount of melanin you have. I think the sport has come a long way in the form of more acceptance but also know we have a long ways to go.

The third problem is the structure we have at the top of our sport. This includes the professional and collegiate ranks. Like any system, it starts from the top and works its way down. At the top of our sport 50% of the athletes ranked inside the top 10 in their event in the world make less then $15,000 a year, thats less then minimum wage. That coupled with the fact that olympic sports are being cut left and right in college brings a lot of question to mind for where the sport will be in twenty years. I, for one, do not blame Title IX but blame the senseless greed of college athletic departments. I am not adverse to profits but I am adverse to cutting other sports to improve your margins. I also believe that if we strengthened the college scene that the professional ranks would strengthen as well with more competitors and more meets leading to more viable options for athletes to compete in more then just Olympic years.

The final problem and the one that is most personal to me is homophobia in track and sports as a whole. No matter what creed, nationality, sexual orientation, race, or whoever you are, being different is ok. Being different is a good thing, its empowering and what makes our sport one of the best. Track, unlike any sport is made up of a lot of different disciplines all combined into a single one. That coming togetherness from all the events and disciplines makes our sport the best. The point is this, people are different but that does not mean they should be treated differently. Also, on the same cord with this is the use of the words that are derogatory to ethnic groups, sexual identities, genders, and the such. Those words don't need to be used and I can guarantee you there are much funnier and appropriate things you can say without offending people.


MileStat, Why do we drive on parkways and park in driveways?

by: Tyler Speers

Tyler, I would be very impressed if you actually know whose quote this is from because they just happen to be my favorite comedian. He of course is George Carlin. Carlin was one of the edgiest comedians ever and was actually the first ever host of SNL. He also had countless HBO specials and never shied away from pushing the envelope. He pushed it so far that one of his acts, "7 dirty words" made its way all the way to the Supreme Court.

But in his own words: "Just to be silly!".


MileStat, why haven't the meets (that were cancelled) even attempted to reschedule and why have these opportunities been taken away from us after a long and difficult season?

by: Daniel LaFever

Daniel, the ideas were tossed around but the lack of facilities really held everyone back from that idea. I can assure you that many regions personally spoke with me and we worked to try and think of a plan to get these meets in but unfortunately without major facilities around the state being available for use at a reasonable price, we were left with no viable options. It stinks but it is something that is really unique to indoor track.


MileStat, with more inclement weather in the long range forecast, are there already contingency plans in place for States?

by: Mary Ann Magnant

Mary Ann, yes and no. States is a complete different monster then regionals and will likely face a lot less adversity from administration then the regional meets. Let's say that states face the same issue as 6A South where the majority of schools are out on Friday. Unlike regionals, I have no doubt that the schools would be allowed to compete because it could be considered an overnight trip with little travel once you are there. That being said, I am sure that there have been talks about this and condensing the schedules; but in all reality, it will be a huge pain if we face any weather trouble down in Hampton.


MileStat, with the disappointing multiple regional meet cancellations, did the meet directors ever consider moving back the state meet a week?

by: Ted Andrewlevich

Ted, it was very disappointing indeed and the idea was tossed around but turned down for many reasons. The first and biggest is that you are completely rolling the dice, if states gets moved for the sake of regionals and then faces weather issues then what happens? States and nationals would then be on the same day. The second thing is that states in Virginia is already late with some schools already in outdoor track and the last thing standing in the way is the way we schedule our seasons. The best way to think of it, and how we think of scheduling our coverage teams, is starting with the state meet and working back from it. Maybe some regions need to reexamine when they have their meets relative to states like 5A South or maybe we should see more regions working together to make their schedules more in line with what states is with a two classification meet.


MileStat, can you provide some insight as to why Halifax County is in 5A North? Wouldn't 5A South make more sense for them as they almost border North Carolina?

by: Anonymous

Anon, well technically speaking if you turn the state on its side they are in the north! All joking aside, it is a little silly that a school further south then Blacksburg is in a "north" region. It is largely due though to the way the conferences were structured and looking at multiple sports. I assume it was the easiest way out for the VHSL to classify them there. Next year though with the movements I would not be surprised to see them move to a more geographically correct region.


MileStat, between XC, indoor, and outdoor, what is your favorite season to compete in and cover?

by: Travis Krickovic

Travis, all three have their appeals for me. XC definitely has the best state meet to cover, its basically perfect. Indoors gets you excited more then anything the first time you watch some tight races in a loud facility and outdoor is non-stop action for three months. All that being said, my favorite is probably outdoor since the meets have a little more history, I love the spring, and get to wear shorts. Competing wise it is definitely summer track. I unfortunately do not have the skill to go professional so I enjoy training and running summer track races at Sportsbackers Stadium every Wednesday during summer. Running on a banked indoor track though is definitely the most fun.


MileStat, are there any big changes coming for the site? Automated facial recognition in photos? New Logo? Something else that is top secret?

by: Johnny Pace

Johnny, a very good question. Unfortunately I am not at liberty to discuss all our secrets because we do not want the likes of Google or Skynet to take them for their own devices. On a more serious note though, both myself and my colleagues at MileSplit HQ are very pro-change and keep pushing the envelope. Ideas have been thrown out from redesigning the front page to creating an app to anything you could think of. The best part of it all though is now that MileSplit is a subsidiary of FloCasts we have the stability and wherewithal to make a lot of these changes and advances possible. Stick around and watch us grow!