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Be the Referee: Cross Country Tie-Breaker
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
October 25, 2022
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Cross Country Regionals are this weekend, and the top three teams will automatically qualify for the state Finals. If a school finishes fourth in the Regional meet with four or more runners in the top 20 places and eight or more complete teams finishing the race, that school will also qualify as a team for the Final meet. But what happens if there is a tie between two teams?
When there is a tie in team scoring it shall be resolved by comparing the sixth-place finishers from the tying teams. The team with the best sixth-place finisher shall prevail. If one team does not have a sixth-place finisher, the team with the sixth-place finisher shall prevail.
If only five competitors of tying teams finish, the tie shall be resolved by totaling the scores of the first four finishers, and the team with the lower score breaking the tie and advancing.
Previous Editions:
Oct. 11: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End Zone - Listen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change - Listen
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Sleeman, Houghton Earn 1st Finals Wins
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 25, 2020
MARQUETTE — It was a day for making history for the Houghton girls here Saturday as they edged reigning champion Marquette 56-58 for their first Upper Peninsula Division 1 cross country title.
Houghton previously had finished Finals runner-up in 1989 and 2007.
Sault Ste. Marie squeezed past Ishpeming Westwood 82-83 for third place.
“All of the girls really stepped up today,” said Houghton assistant coach Erik Johnson. “Marquette and Sault are tough, and Westwood has a strong team. We worked our tails off.
“We were off for two weeks due to COVID-19, but the girls ran on the own and it paid off. This was a tough year with the virus and everything else. Our No. 1 goal was to get here and finish the season.”
Houghton junior Paige Sleeman was crowned champion for the first time, covering the 3.1-mile course at Presque Isle Park in 20 minutes, 55.2 seconds on this chilly and overcast day. She was followed by Westwood sophomore Heidi Meglathery (21:00.8) and classmate Ingrid Seagram (21:19.4).
“I just tried to stay with the top runners,” she said. “I like running in colder weather.
“I wanted to win and wanted our team to win. We were willing to do whatever it took. Marquette has tough runners. Ingrid had a real good race. I felt she held it together well. All the teams and girls ran well.”
Seagren, who has asthma, said she had some breathing issues.
"I’m trying to get it under control,” she added. “I’m still happy with the way I ran. I just had to keep preparing myself. Paige had a great race. I’m really proud of her.
“This is really a boost for our program. I’m super proud of our team and how we ran.”
Meglathery was fresh from earning her first Mid-Peninsula Conference title.
“I really, really wanted to win,” she said. “I just thought about the positives and helping the team. I think winning the M-PC gave me some momentum. It was tight the whole race. Ingrid was right behind me for a while, then she started trailing a little. There were a lot of hills on the course and it was super windy by the lake (Superior). I like running in the cold more than in the heat.”
Marquette senior Olivia Moffitt placed fourth (21:50.2), and Westwood senior Elizabeth Williams took fifth (21:53).
“Hats off to Houghton,” said Marquette coach Kyle Detmers. “They missed two weeks and their girls still came through. Their 1-2 punch is hard to beat. Olivia was battling a cold, but she came through for us. This is the only meet we lost all year, yet there’s nothing inside me that’s disappointed.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Houghton's Paige Sleeman (88) leads Ishpeming-Westwood's Heidi Meglathery (92), the eventual runner-up, on the way to winning the Division 1 Final at Presque Isle Park in Marquette. (Middle) Sleeman runs with Marquette's Olivia Moffitt (104) near the beginning of the race. Moffitt took fourth. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)