It was bound to happen. More than 40 other states had already made the move. I just wonder what took Iowa so long to get on board?
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union made the decision last week to expand the distance that high school female cross country athletes run to 3.1 miles.
Iowa was one of only eight states that had not changed the distance and continued to run 2.5 miles. No big deal. But there are advantages to furthering the distance.
Fans won’t have to ask as many questions at the meet. With one course, they won’t have to worry about where the boys run and where the girls run. They will now both run the same course. They will both run the same distance.
Workers won’t have to work as hard. They won’t have to worry about two different courses either.
But the real winners are the runners themselves.
I realize some won’t like the idea of running further. But it will put the student-athletes in even better shape. It will bring athletics closer to gender equality. And it will prepare the runners better for college.
In college, the women run 3.1 and the men go 4 miles. So, will the Iowa High School Athletic Association expand the miles for the boys? And will the state decide to further the distances of junior high runners?
Those are questions that will be answered eventually.
I reached out to some area coaches and they seem to be OK with the change.
Collins-Maxwell/Baxter coach Jerry Meinerts said he didn’t care that the girls ran shorter distances. But he understands the change and doesn’t think the extra 0.6 miles will be that big of a deal.
“I wasn’t expecting it to come this soon, but I thought it was in the plans down the road,” Meinerts said. “The girls will have to learn different courses and different loops, but I don’t think running another 1/2 mile will be that big of a difference. I was fine with the girls running the shorter distance but the 5K distance will be better for girls who have aspirations to run in college.”
The biggest question for girls cross country itself now is, will the change to 3.1 miles hurt participation numbers?
My honest opinion is that it will at first, but may pick back up a few years down the road.
I spoke with one specific area cross country runner during a wrestling meet on Saturday and she told me that she wasn’t going out next season.
She has other reasons for deciding not to run but did express her disapproval with the state’s decision.
I think that will be a popular opinion with current high school students, unfortunately.
Younger runners will come into high school already knowing the distance has changed so the numbers should get better as more runners adapt to different training methods and strategies.
“I see positives and negatives,” Colfax-Mingo coach Zach Tomas said. “It will be nice to set up just one course. I think this makes it easier overall for coaches that coach both girls and boys. You can do the same workouts for both teams.
“This was bound to happen. The coaches association put a vote out last year. I figured it was something that was in the works eventually.”
Newton cross country coach Rachelle Tipton was unaware of the push for a new distance, but she is perfectly fine with the change.
“I believe it is a good move,” Tipton said. “The majority of states race the 3.1 mile distance and we are now in line with them. Most runners will have run a 5k road race, so the distance is not foreign. I know the Newton girls are capable of making the move up, and I look forward to next season.”
NFL season is winding down
My favorite NFL team — the San Francisco 49ers — were not involved in the postseason this year after making three straight trips to the NFC tile game.
That didn’t keep me away from the television to see which teams would keep their season alive. But my least-favorite teams in the entire league were the only teams still not eliminated from NFC contention heading into Sunday.
I had to force myself to root for the Carolina Panthers because there was no way I could hope for success when it comes to the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys.
The Packers-Cowboys game was fun. I wanted both teams to lose.
And once again, a call on the field stole the show and took away what was a great weekend of NFL games.
I understand the rule. You know, the "must complete the process of the catch rule."
But it's a dumb rule. And if the right call was made because that's what the rule says, then the rule needs to be changed.
Dez Bryant caught the ball. I don’t know how anyone could see that differently.
Again, I am not biased. I had no reason to want the Cowboys to win — but I think they got jobbed. Just like the Detroit Lions got hosed against the Cowboys the week before.
Last year, I saw an official make a horrendous call against my Niners in a regular season game against the Saints and that call cost San Francisco the game and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Niners had to go to Seattle because of the call and very few teams win in Seattle. And all we got from the league after the game was the official made the wrong call and that the player who was flagged wouldn’t be fined for his hit on Drew Brees.
That’s gratifying. The call was wrong, you admitted it, but the result stays the same. Perfect.
I don’t want to make this about me. The Niners aren’t the only team that has to deal with the horrific officiating that has been seen that past few years.
And why does the NFL form “all-star” officiating crews for the playoffs? The crews we see on playoff weekends are not the same crews we see during the regular season. They mix and match based on their performance during the year.
I am not opposed to rewarding someone for a job well done, but there is a sort of cohesion and comfort that comes with officiating.
It would be much better for the league, the players and the fans if the NFL would grade the officials based on their entire crew and not just as individuals. That way we have a better chance of not seeing the referees decide important games.
As for the remaining teams in the playoffs. Give me Seattle over Green Bay and New England over Indianapolis. That is my prediction. Not what I want to see.
I would love to see Andrew Luck in the big game. And I despise the Seahawks more than any other team right now, so as much as I dislike the Packers, I would still rather see them in the Super Bowl. And the main reason is because the roster is littered with Iowa Hawkeyes.
But if my prediction becomes reality, Tom Brady vs. the Legion of Boom in the Super Bowl is not too shabby either.
Correction
The Colfax-Mingo girls cross country team advanced to the state meet this past fall despite not even fielding an entire squad four years ago.
But it wasn’t the first time a Colfax-Mingo cross country team advanced to state, as I stated in an article in last Thursday’s Newton Daily News.
The community has seen many state cross country appearances and even a few state championships.
Contact Troy Hyde at
641-792-3121 ext. 6536
or thyde@newtondailynews.com