At some point, it's just time to say enough is enough.
In Massachusetts cross country, now that the MIAA has expanded the Eastern Mass. tournaments from four to six classes, that point has arrived.
Six classes!
I remember back when I worked in Illinois, many of us in the media, as well as a healthy dose of the state's coaches, were aghast that the state expanded from one to two classes.
For heaven sakes, we argued then, cross country only requires five runners to score and great runners can be developed in the smallest of schools.
That was the case with one of the all-time Illinois greats, Craig Virgin, who came from diminutive Lebanon High School (200 students) and was a member of one of the state's better teams. And there were plenty of other examples, too.
Right next door, in New Hampshire, Pelham was competitive with the larger schools for several years and Patrick Moulton won the Meet of Champions his senior year, defeating all those big-school stars.
Certainly, bigger schools have a larger supply of students from which to draw, but large squads do not guarantee success. And it's not like football, or even basketball, because the physical size of the students are irrelevant.
The shortest or tallest students, the weakest or strongest, can all become quality cross country runners. It brings to mind the recruiting tactics in Illinois of legendary coach Joe Newton of York High School.
Newton would go to physical education classes during the first week of school and seek out the runt or most geek-like member of each class and ask: "Do you want to run cross country and become a champion?"
Usually, he would say yes and, more often than not, Newton would turn him into a contributing member of a championship team.
Why is the MIAA so intent on expansion? To me, it's just another example of creating more championships and thereby diluting the significance of a true championship. But the MIAA claims there is another reason for it — safety. Supposedly, the size of the races, particularly in Division 4 (about 280 runners), was getting too large and it was making the races too dangerous.
Veteran St. John's Prep coach Ray Carey is among many coaches who doubt this.
"I don't think there's been a (safety) problem at all," said Carey. "Where's the evidence that someone has gotten hurt? I've been coaching 30 years and no one's got hurt that I know of.
"We've had (state) JV races with over 400 runners and it's not a problem. In most races, it doesn't take long for the runners to spread out."
And moreover, isn't jostling for position part of the equation in cross country?
Carey doesn't beat around the bush about the real reason for the expansion. It's pretty obvious.
"It's just a way to have more championships, more winners, a way to water it down," said Carey. "When does it end? If six is good, is eight better? If we keep watering it down, it means much less to call yourself a state champion."
Exactly.
Admittedly, there are a few coaches who like the change, including veteran Chelmsford coach Jack Lang of Methuen, who gets right to the point by saying: "I'm in favor of it because it gets more people involved and gives more kids a chance for a state championship."
But Lang appears to be in the minority, and rightfully so.
The wild card format
In order to make sure that the larger schools are not discriminated against, many of the coaches were able to get an amendment to the original format change, which dictated that each division would qualify just three teams to All-States.
Instead, each division will now advance four teams and a fifth team will also qualify — the one that has the best overall time among the divisions (one for the top three divisions, which advance to the Division 1 All-State, and one for the next three divisions which advance to Division 2 All-State).
Methuen assistant Scott Ouellet and others did research to show that, otherwise, the talented Division 1 teams would be discriminated against.
One year, after all, St. John's Prep won All-State after finishing fourth at the Eastern Mass. Division 1 meet. Another year, Brockton won All-State after finishing fifth at the EMass. Division 1 meet.
Even this amendment is not perfect, however, as Haverhill coach Mike Maguire points out. If the course is wet or in bad shape, the final racers of the day (often EMass. Division 1) are at a disadvantage in regard to their times.
Franklin Park in jeopardy?
Many coaches are also worried about rumors that Boston is seriously considering a charge on each runner who competes in meets at Franklin Park, a development that would force the MIAA to look for a new course for its major meets.
"It would be a shame not to race there," said Maguire. "It's an outstanding course for the athletes and spectators alike. I believe the state meet should be held at Franklin Park and only Franklin Park."
Not only is Franklin Park popular, there are no good alternatives in Eastern Mass. The course at the Wrentham State Development Center, which hosts the MSTCA Invitational, is nobody's favorite.
At this point, it looks like Franklin Park will at least be in use next year, but the future beyond that is in doubt.
E-mail Dave Dyer at ddyer@eagletribune.com.
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