Say it with your chest🗣️
regionals, I'm talking about regionals
What are you doing June 8th? Unless it involves you spending the evening at Rockhurst High School, cancel it! Back again for it’s second year, the Kansas City Metro Mile is the place to be and hopefully the home of the next sub-four mile on Kansas soil. There are all different types of talent competing, from the Kids Mile to the Men’s and Women’s Elite Mile, plus everyone in between! Registration is $20 per entry, and it comes with a meet shirt! Register online and become apart of an amazing meet put on by the KC Running Company!
As many of you know, the Kansas regional system has its flaws, and has had them for years. Over time, and more and more over the last couple of years, both coaches and athletes have taken to social media to either support our current system or to pick it apart. But they mostly opt for the latter. Personally, I think there are definite flaws that are personally affecting current athletes, but at the same time, I do think there are pros to the system that benefit some as well.
Even if there was enough support around the state to submit a proposal to KSHSAA and put a new system in place, how would it look and what would it take to actually put it in place? Perhaps a similar process for the ongoing “Private School Multiplier,” but maybe one that didn’t take nearly as much time and one that could hopefully avoid the long and drawn out bureaucratic process could be considered. It all got me thinking. What are other states our size doing, and are there aspects of their current systems that would surpass our current system?
As of today, Kansas is the 34th largest state in the US based on population, with nearly 2.94 million citizens spread out across the ‘Sunflower State’. Across the country, there are six states that are approximately plus or minus 500,000 people, so I thought that those six would be the most relevant and meaningful states to analyze. Yes, I could have spent time looking into California or Wyoming, but why waste time comparing a state of 39,000,000 people or 583,000 to a state our size. It simply just wouldn’t contribute any necessary or relevant data.
The six states I did choose to look into are Connecticut, Utah, Nevada, Iowa, Arkansas and Mississippi. Connecticut is the largest of the six, with a population of 3.6 million people, while Utah, Nevada, Iowa and Arkansas are a tad closer in size, ranging from 3.06-3.4 million people, with Mississippi being the closest of the bunch with 2.93 million.
As you know, Kansas has six classes, and four regions per class during the track & field season. Every region has a maximum of four state qualifiers, which are made up of the top four finishers in each event. You probably know that, but just in case— what’s bad about a refresher?
Connecticut that couldn’t be any more different from Kansas has a number of different methods that play a role in qualifying for the state meet. For starters, you only get to compete in regionals if you have “equaled or bettered” the qualifying mark during the regular season.
For reference, ‘LL’ is the state’s large school classification, and could be compared to 6A for us, with ‘S’ being the small school classification, which is comparable to a combination of 1A and 2A. At the Divisional Championships, which are their version of regionals, there are two ways to qualify for the ‘State Open Championship’.
Top five finishers in Class LL, L, MM, M and S divisional championships (Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference)
All competitors who meet the automatic qualifying performance standard (CIAC)
The special standard will be set each year after the class meets have ended. The special standard will be determined by looking at the performance rankings for each event that includes the top five (5) qualifying performances from each of the class meets. The 12th place performance from the qualifiers will become the automatic standard for that year. All athletes who meet that standard during the current year’s class championship will advance to the open. Qualifiers who have met the standard will see their names posted online 24 hours after the conclusion of the last class championship meet. (CIAC)
Following the Class meet is the State Open Championship, which is then followed by the New England Championship, a geographical region championship including athletes from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont—hence, the term New England.
Overall, Connecticut is much more complex in terms of their high school track & field postseason, but utilizing both standards and racing to qualify for postseason meets is a strong combination that I personally feel would work for Kansas in some capacity.
Just like Connecticut, Utah also uses a mixture of standards and pure qualifying, but it was much easier to understand and didn’t require as much attention to detail as Connecticut. Utah has six classifications, just like Kansas, ranging from biggest (6A) to smallest (1A), again, just like Kansas. 6A has four regions, while 5A has five, with 4A having just two. 3A, 2A and 1A all have four regional meets apiece. Each region has a varying number of state qualifiers, which I can imagine but cannot confirm is based on either the amount of schools in the region or number of athletes.
In addition to the regional meets, there is also a secondary method in which athletes can qualify for the state meet.
“In addition to the above, any individual or relay team meeting the qualifying standard at a sanctioned qualifying or region meet will also qualify for the state meet. Only one relay team from each school may be entered at the state meet. Seeding for the state meets will be based on the qualifying mark from the region or other sanctioned qualifying meet. Only qualifying marks or marks achieved in earning a qualifying place at the Region meet are allowed for entry into and seeding at the state meet. Wind aided marks will NOT be accepted as state qualifying marks in the 100 Meter Dash, 200 Meter Dash, or in the 100 or 110 Meter High Hurdles. Average anemometer (wind gauge) readings in excess of +2.0 meters per second (see rule 10-2) are considered to be wind aided. All state qualifying marks submitted in these events from state qualifying meets must be accompanied by a valid anemometer reading during the race in which the mark was achieved. An anemometer (wind gauge) is required at all state qualifying meets.” (Utah High School Activities Association)
On the other hand, Nevada was something along the lines of confusing and simple. There are five classes in the state, 1A-5A, with each class having a pair of ‘leagues’ or ‘regions’.
1A — Northern Region and Southern Region
2A — Northern League and Southern Region
3A — Northern Region and Southern League
4A — Desert League and Mountain League
5A — Northern League and Southern League
Despite the state’s obsessive behavior over the cardinal directions, their qualifying system was fairly simple and made at least a little sense. In 1A and 2A, the top three finishers in each event in the two region/league championships qualify for the state championship, resulting in six automatic qualifiers. For the last two spots, results of both meets are compared and the next two highest finishers qualify as well, regardless of what region they are in. For the other three classes, it is simply the top four finishers in each region, with the absence of any additional at-large bids. This was a system I felt would work in place of Kansas’ current system, but the thought of eight athletes instead of sixteen at state did not make the final cut of “Maxx’s Favorite Parts of Nevada’s Track & Field Qualifying Process”. Catchy right?
Up in Iowa, scattered amongst the 12.9 million acres of corn, there are some high schools here and there, and those high schools are split up between four classes, with the smaller schools in 1A and the state’s largest in 4A.
“In Class 4A, the top two place winners in each event plus the next twelve (12) best performances statewide from qualifying meet place winners (1st – 8th) will advance to the state meet. Class 3A and Class 2A, the top two place winners in each event plus the next eight (8) performances statewide from qualifying meet place winners (1st – 8th) will advance to the state meet. In Class 1A, the top place winner in each event plus the next fourteen (14) best performances statewide from qualifying meet place winners will advance to the state meet. If there are ties, the highest qualifying meet place winner (1st – 8th) will be the qualifier. If the tie still remains, the school name, as printed in the IHSAA Directory, will be used as the tie breaker. The first school name alphabetically will become the qualifier. There will be no more than 24 qualifiers in any event”. (Iowa High School Athletic Association)
Personally, Iowa’s method might be one of my favorites that I’ve looked into, primarily because it lets twenty-four athletes toe the line, pit, ring, etc, in Des Moines, compared to the sixteen that we max out at in Wichita. However, I’m not convinced that I’m fully on board with their qualifying process, primarily because I don’t really understand it.
Out of all of the states we’ve looked at, Arkansas separates itself from the rest with a whopping seven classes, adding 7A in addition to the other six.
In the two largest classes, 7A and 6A, the top six finishers in each event from each of the two conference meets qualify for the state meet. Additionally, there can be a number of extra qualifiers that have hit the qualifying standard, which must have been achieved at either the conference meet or a regular season certified meet. I couldn’t find clarification, but I believe a certified meet just means the meet has a timing system and certain requirements for athletes and teams. It also probably requires the stamp of approval from the Arkansas Activities Association. However, there is a limit to the number of entries, which will max out with one additional heat. In field events, there is a limit of eight additional qualifiers, which must be from meets with weighted implements and wind gauges. You can read a much more descriptive explanation here.
Shocker, that again, there is another state our size that has implemented at-large bids along with automatic qualifiers. Makes me think we could perhaps explore that addition down the road, but maybe that makes too much sense.
Finally, we get to the hardest of the states to spell, Mississippi. Just like us, ‘The Magnolia State’ has six classes, but way more than a singular meet that dictates who toes the line at the state championship.
The journey to state starts with the district meet, where you must finish within the top four to keep your season alive. After that comes the North & South meets, where you again, must finish in the top four in your event, advancing you to the state championship with a field of eight athletes.
This may be my least favorite qualifying system of the six states, mainly because it feels like a drawn out postseason that leads to just eight athletes eventually competing in the state championship.
After an afternoon’s worth of research—if that, I think I’ve come to a conclusion. There needs to be some sort of change as to how Kansas athletes qualify for the state championships. But, there are a lot of different factors that need to be kept in mind before I start spewing my suggestion.
First, the Kansas State High School Track & Field Championship Meet is one of the most unique in the country, and that’s because it’s the biggest state championship in the country, plus the only state to hold all six classes at the same site. This is something that is non-negotiable for a couple of reasons. First, I could imagine it’s easier to manage one site compared to three or more, and it’s also just one of the best parts about track & field in our state. Additionally, think of the revenue. With every athlete competing at a singular site, you take away the decision-making for fans who have to pick and choose which meet they want to attend more than the other.
Another factor is the meet schedule. If you haven’t noticed, the schedule for every Kansas state meet is nearly as efficient as can be, and when there isn’t weather, it’s typically “ran to a T”. My only beef with the schedule is how all 3200m races aren’t ran in the morning. There might be a reason that I’m oblivious to, but I don’t think it’s a good enough reason to have some athletes compete in the track’s longest event in the evening, when the temperature may be drastically warmer than it was for the athletes who raced in the morning session.
The meet itself is also completed over the span of two days, so if you expand it in terms of entries, that would likely require an additional third day to the weekend championship. I don’t think it would pose a scheduling issue to any high school graduation ceremonies, primarily since it’s state week for all high school sports and there is competition throughout. Plus, the meet postponed it’s final day to Sunday in the 2019 edition after a series of storms rolled throughWichita, so it’s been done before.
So after all of this, is there actually a new system that would be well-received by the majority of those who care AND actually work within the current system? I think there is definitely one out there, but I have some suggestions that may or may not cover all of the bases for those who are as passionate about track & field as I am.
First, I wouldn’t change the meet calendar for the outdoor season. I would keep May the same, beginning with the final regular season meets the first weekend of May, followed by league/conference meets, regionals and obviously state. However, I’d recommend a qualifying standard to get into the regional itself. One option is that standards could be based on the previous year’s results at the state championship, or maybe a set of times and marks that are voted on by coaches throughout the state. Regardless of how the standards are determined, I think considering options would be a good step in the right direction.
Another possible way to determine the standards could be to take the eighth place time/mark of each regional and average them out, and that average could be the standard to get into regionals.
For example, in 2022, the last time on the podium in the 5A Boy’s 800m was 2:01.38, and so far in 2023, twenty-seven guys have run faster, meaning that hypothetically all of those runners would book their spot at regionals. The average for the 2022 5A 800m Boy’s regionals would be 2:06.93. Sixty-one total athletes have hit that hypothetical standard this year, which is four less than the sixty-five who raced at regionals last year under the current qualifying system.
Obviously, whichever method you prefer, standards would be different and would vary from class to class.
Granted, this is just one example of one event, so it may be a different series of numbers for other events. If a very packed and busy regional meet is your concern, there could be different athlete limitations for the different classes. Maybe that means cutting off the maximum number of entries, or whatever else floats your boat. The possibilities are truly endless.
In addition to the standards, I would keep it the way it is now and stick with four automatic qualifiers in every region . . .
But wait, there’s more!
I’d also recommend an additional eight at-large athletes that are based off of regional results, which would take the next eight highest placing athletes from all four regionals combined. That way, you still have an equal and fair chance in each region for athletes to qualify for state, but now you hopefully avoid leaving some of the state’s best kids at home during the championship. This would also be a way to keep regional racing honest, and add even more excitement.
This however would most likely require a third day to be implemented into the state meet, which I don’t think would be the end of the world. It benefits everybody. It gives more athletes a chance to compete, and we can hopefully avoid fast and talented kids watching from home every year, AND it gives KSHSAA the opportunity to bring in another full day of revenue. An expanded meet would also allow the chance for additional families and friends to come support athletes, only driving the total revenue up over the hypothetical three day meet.
However, there is a chance that this large of an increase in athletes and spectators would pose a logistical issue, but I honestly don’t think it would be as bad as some might think. According to Visit Wichita there are over 8,000 hotel and motel rooms across the city, and with the rise of Airbnb and VRBO homes for rent, I think Wichita could easily accomodate such an increase. I could be wrong though, but hopefully I’m not.
Another change that I think would be beneficial is to add a first-team and second-team all-state when it comes to the podium. As they have for a while, the top eight finishers get a medal and a chance to get their picture on the podium. Then you can have the 9-16 finishers earn the title of ‘Second Team All-American’.
And after reading all of this, you may ask, “If the kids are the best, why didn’t they qualify for state at regionals? You, my friend, would either be unaware of athlete’s having their worst days of competition at regionals, or you may be unaware of the loaded regionals that have been more and more present throughout the state.
And no, it’s not just a 6A thing.
This outdoor season, Trinity Academy, Southeast of Saline and Wichita Collegiate were all in the same 3A region in Nickerson. In all of 3A, seven of the fastest 800m runners are from the three schools, along with eight of the sixteen fastest in the 1600m, and ten of the fastest 3200m runners, including eight of the top ten. On paper, you also have the top three 3A teams in the same region, which to me doesn’t make sense. Not to mention, Council Grove, the fourth best team in the state is ALSO in that region. But before you say how the regionals are based on location, please reconsider.
For Trinity Academy, Southeast of Saline and Wichita Collegiate, Nickerson was geographically the closest of the four regional sites, but for Council Grove, they actually would have had to travel DOUBLE as far as they would have if they were in the West Franklin regional—which to me, makes absolutely zero sense. They actually saved themselves some time when Buhler was made the new last-minute site due to impending weather in Nickerson last week.
I know that things can change year-after-year because of which schools offer to host, but still—there has to be something that can be put in place to avoid problems like this happening in the future.
If the 3A situation wasn’t enough, let’s meander on up to 6A, where shocker, regional problems were afoot.
We’ll take another look at the distance side of things (because that’s what I know best), and take a look at the two Johnson County regionals. In the four distance events, made up of the 800m, 1600m, 3200m and 4x800m relay, both Olathe and Shawnee Mission Northwest had over thirty percent of the state’s fastest in each event.
Dang, if only there was some solution to a problem like this without making the two other regions suffer. 🤷♂️
All-in-all, there is a problem with our regional system, at least in a lot of people’s eyes. Even if there isn’t an entirely new change, there are definite flaws in the current system that should be revisited.
I can’t wait until next spring when we revisit this subject for another consecutive year! But first, we’ve got a state championship to get amped for! Cessna Stadium is the place to be this Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, gates open at 6:45 a.m. with the first event starting at 7:45 a.m. On Saturday, gates open at 7:00 a.m. with the first event beginning at 8:00 a.m. It’s also $10 for admission on each of the two days, and you aren’t allowed to bring outside food or drink in, but you are allowed to bring in a crisp unopened bottle of water, so that’s a win, I guess. Here is a link to tickets for Friday and Saturday if you want to buy your tickets ahead of time. Heads up! You can’t bring a backpack, or even a clear bag, so layer up on sunscreen before you head in.
From what I can tell, that covers all of the bases on what information you need to know heading into the state championship, and I’m hopeful that we’ll see a lot of you in Wichita!
If you have an opinion different from mine, or you even agree with me, I would love to hear what other fans invested in the sport feel when it comes to a touchy subject like this!
Thank you for reading and supporting this! If you aren’t already, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and let any track & field fan know about this so they can stay up to date on Kansas athletics! If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to reach out to us through our email ksxcountrytandf@gmail.com