The Maine Principals' Association state cross-country championship meets scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, and Saturday, November 14 have been canceled according to a press release by the MPA on Monday afternoon. Rising cases of COVID-19 across the state combined with a new mask mandate were the major area of concerns given for the cancellation.
Complete MPA Press Release
It is with regret that the Maine Principals' Association announces the cancellation of the 2020 State Cross Country Championships. Please know that this was not a decision that was taken lightly, but one that the leadership at the MPA felt necessary to take based on a couple of major concerns
- The concern of bringing students together from all parts of Maine through state-wide travel as we are experiencing a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Maine.
- The new mask mandate for student-athletes to wear masks throughout the competition. Many cross country runners have not been acclimatized to wearing the mask while competing in a high stakes race since the mandate took place last Friday. This is a concern for the health and safety of the student-athletes.
We received a great deal of feedback from school administrators and coaches regarding this meet and all concerns were heard. We also know that there will be a great deal of disappointment from those scheduled to compete in this race.
We reached out to Falmouth Co-head coach Jorma Kurry for his thoughts on the cancelation.
"It's really disappointing for all of the kids. We got so close to the day and it has been agonizing watching case counts spike upwards. It has been a real dilemma for the MPA and meet officials about how to run the meet safely but also fairly. For kids like Sofie, Karley, and Ben and all the seniors in particular it's really disappointing. The last chance to race and to leave that legacy is a tough thing to lose. While Sofie would never say it herself, for all of us it was exciting to watch her pursue her fourth title. Ben was looking for a chance to break the bad luck he's had at state meets and seemed like he was really ready to do it. Karley has been such a rock for four years and racing so well this year, I was really looking forward to one more big race from her."
Maine MileSplit will continue to preview the girls' state xc meet throughout the week despite the meet being canceled.