Megan Haring, Lexington HS (Ohio) and her coach Julie Jungeberg
Last June I was home visiting in Dayton, Ohio and was fortunate to see the State of Ohio high school championship meet which was being held in town this year. Normally it would be in Columbus, but the Jesse Owens stadium was under repair.
On the morning of the second day of the meet I was hanging out trackside and met a young competitor in the 'seated athlete' competition, Megan Harting of Lexington High School. Megan, a junior at Lexington High had finished 8th in the 100 meters on Friday and was waiting to compete in the 400 later that Saturday. She was there early to cheer on some of her teammates. It had been many years since I had attended a state meet, and this was the first time I had observed para athletes in action in that venue. Megan told me a bit about her training and introduced me to her coach Julie Jungeberg. Megan's goal when she graduates is to be a medical assistant in a hospital. She would finish 7th in the 400 meters with a time of 2:14.82. Her hundred time was 34.23.
While watching some of the Para Olympics in Paris I became curious as to what other states in the US do for providing competition in track and field for para athletes. It varies widely from state to state and is surprisingly weak is some of what might be considered more progressive states. Washington, New Jersey and North Carolina seem to be the most progressive covering a very wide range of events. North Carolina and Washington even have cross country. Ohio refers to their para athletes as 'seated athletes' so I must assume there is nothing for athletes with missing limbs or other disabilities like being unsighted. In fact I'm almost completely at a lost to know all the classifications that are use in international competition. It's time I should learn.
The following site gives a lot of information about para athletes in US high schools.
https://www.usopc.org/high-school-resources Scroll down to the lower left on the site and click on the link to "States with Integrated Championships" for more information. You can click on any state on the US map that comes up to see what they offer to their para athletes. Some offer nothing, some offer a lot. Here is a list of states providing competition for para athletes in track and field and the events they cover. Scoring may or may not be combined to calculate team champions. It varies from state to state. Maryland's response is subject to interpretation. If a state is not listed, there is no data available on that state or they do not include para athletes. Some states offer soccer, wheel chair basketball, and swimming, but I've chosen only to cover Track and Field in this post. Note: Oregon is only state that has the 1500 rather than the 1600. Several states have cross country, but I don't know if this is done 'seated' or is another category of para athlete. Arizona is only state with long jump.
Event
State 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 SP DISC JAV LJ XC
AL 100 200 400 SP DIS JAV
AZ 100 200 SP DIS LJ
CA 100 200 400 SP
CO No Data
FL 200 800 SP
GA 100 200 400 SP DIS
IA 100 200 800 SP DIS
ID 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 SP DIS
IL 100 200 400 SP DIS XC
LA 100 200 400 800 SP DIS JAV
MA 100 SP
100 200 400 800 1600 3200 SP DISC JAV LJ XC
MD Depends on the Individual
ME 100 400 800 1600 SP DIS
MI 100 200 400 SP
MO 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 SP DIS
MN 100 800 1600 3200 SP DIS
NEB 200 800 SP
NC 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 SP DIS and XC
NJ 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 SP DIS JAV
NV 1600 3200
NY 1600 3200
OH 100 400 800 SP
OR 100 400 1500
PA 100
SC 100 200
TX 100 400 SP
WA 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 SP DIS JAV and XC
WI 100 200 400 800 1600 SP
Today's events at Paris were highlighted by Ezra Frech's win in the high jump with a leap of 6' 4 1/4" or 1.94 meters followed by two athletes from India Sharad Kumar at 1.88 m and Mariyappan Thangavelu at 1.85 m. It was watching Frech's win on the TV news tonight that reminded me of meeting Megan Haring last June.
Also if you are curious about what the various classifications of disability are, they can be found at this website. https://www.paralympic.org/athletics/classification
From Bruce Kritzler in Florida: Lots of stuff in Florida, including competing at state hs track meet along with able bodied athletes. Shot put, 100, 400, 800, 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay. Usually one heat for wheelchairs, another for runners.
Bruce, this leads me to believe that my list may need some updating, but that's what comes out on the website.. George
