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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
High school sprinter stripped of state title after celebration is deemed unsportsmanlike
North Salinas sophomore Clara Adams, center, wins a preliminary heat in the girls' 400 meters Friday at the CIF State Track & Field Championships in Clovis. She finished first in the finals the next day but was stripped of the title because of a celebration that was deemed by meet officials to be unsportsmanlike. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) North Salinas High sophomore Clara Adams ran the fastest time in the girls' 400-meter finals at the CIF State Track & Field Finals last weekend. She crossed the finish line .28 seconds ahead of her closest competitor. Advertisement But Adams is not the state champion. She was stripped of that title after she used a fire extinguisher to spray her cleats while on the field inside the track moments after the race. "I was robbed," Adams, 16, told The Times shortly after being disqualified from that event as well the 200 finals, which took place later in the meet. Adams said CIF officials told her that she was being disqualified because she had been "unsportsmanlike," but that's not how she saw it at all. "I was having fun," Adams said, noting her win in the 400 marked her first state title. "I'd never won something like that before, and they took it away from me. I didn't do anything wrong." Advertisement She added: "I worked really hard for it and they took it from me, and I don't know what to do." Days later, David Adams, who said he is the sprint coach at North Salinas, told The Times his daughter was "doing better" but still trying to cope with everything that unfolded Saturday afternoon at Buchanan High in Clovis. Read more: Transgender track athlete wins gold in California state championships despite Trump threat 'Clara's hurt. She's hurt right now," David Adams said Wednesday. "She's better today than Saturday. Saturday was fresh. It just happened. It was a shock. She felt numb. They made her sit there and watch while they put those other girls on the podium, knowing Clara's the fastest 400-meter runner in the state of California.' Advertisement Clara Adams has been running competitively since age 6, her father said. She finished fourth in the 400 at last year's state meet and won the event with a state-best time of 53.23 at the Central Coast Section championships last month. After posting the top qualifying time in Friday's preliminaries, Adams surged ahead of Madison Mosby of St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood to win the race with a time of 53.24. Immediately afterward, Adams walked over to the wall in front of the stands and found her father, who reached down and handed her what he described as a "small" fire extinguisher. She then walked back across the track into the grass, where she sprayed her cleats as if she was putting out a fire — a move her father said was a tribute to former U.S. sprinter Maurice Greene, who similarly celebrated his win in the 100 at the 2004 Home Depot Invitational in Carson. CIF officials apparently were not amused and disqualified Adams on the spot, awarding first place to Mosby. According to rules established by the National Federation of State High School Assns., "unsporting conduct" is defined as behavior that includes but is not limited to 'disrespectfully addressing an official, any flagrant behavior, intentional contact, taunting, criticizing or using profanity directed toward someone.' The penalty is disqualification from the event in which the behavior took place and further competition in the meet. The CIF did not respond to a request for comment from The Times. Advertisement According to David Adams, the officials 'were really nasty" toward his daughter. They "tugged on her arm," he said, "they were screaming in her face. I could hear it from where I was at. I could see it — I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but they were just really nasty." Read more: Long Beach Poly boys' 4x400 relay team shines at state track and field championships Clara Adams said she specifically asked the officials to speak with her father about the disqualification, but they refused. "They kept telling me, 'It's OK,' and I was telling them, 'It's not OK,' and they didn't care," she said. "They were trying to smile in my face, like them telling me 'no' amused them or something." Advertisement David Adams said the officials would only speak to North Salinas head coach Alan Green, who declined to speak to The Times for this story. 'They told him that it was unsportsmanlike conduct," David Adams said of the officials' discussion with Green. "We were asking for the rule, the specific rule of what she did, and they didn't really give anything. It was more of a gray area that gives them discretion to pick and choose what they feel is unsportsmanlike conduct." Read more: Prep talk: Birmingham's Antrell Harris reaches peak form with 10.24 in 100 meters Adams disputes that his daughter behaved in a manner that could be considered unsportsmanlike. Advertisement "Looking at the film, Clara is nowhere near any opponent," he said. "She's off the track, on the grass. Her opponents are long gone off the track already, so she wasn't in their face. It was a father-daughter moment. ... She did it off the track because she didn't want to seem disrespectful toward nobody. And they still found a reason to take her title away. They didn't give her a warning or anything.' He added that his daughter is a "very humble, really sweet kid." "I take responsibility for the situation. I'm taking full responsibility," he said. "Clara has run several championship races and won and walked off the track. It's just weird that she celebrates one time and now people, these strangers, these middle-aged people want to chase after her character?" Greene, the four-time Olympic medalist who inspired Clara's celebration, told KSBW-TV in Salinas that the CIF should reconsider its decision. Advertisement Read more: Greene, Jones Run Like Wind at Carson "If [the celebration] was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her," Greene said. David Adams said he is trying to make that happen but so far the CIF won't return his calls . 'We have an attorney on standby right now," he said. "I don't want to take it there, but I will fight this all the way. As long as I'm breathing I'm gonna fight it. But we're trying to go through proper channels to give the CIF an opportunity to do the right thing. Having an attorney involved is our last resort, that means we tried everything.' Advertisement Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
High school sprinter stripped of state title after celebration is deemed unsportsmanlike
North Salinas High sophomore Clara Adams ran the fastest time in the girls' 400-meter finals at the CIF State Track & Field Finals last weekend. She crossed the finish line .28 seconds ahead of her closest competitor. But Adams is not the state champion. She was stripped of that title after she used a fire extinguisher to spray her cleats while on the field inside the track moments after the race. 'I was robbed,' Adams, 16, told The Times shortly after being disqualified from that event as well the 200 finals, which took place later in the meet. Adams said CIF officials told her that she was being disqualified because she had been 'unsportsmanlike,' but that's not how she saw it at all. 'I was having fun,' Adams said, noting her win in the 400 marked her first state title. 'I'd never won something like that before, and they took it away from me. I didn't do anything wrong.' She added: 'I worked really hard for it and they took it from me, and I don't know what to do.' Days later, David Adams, who said he is the sprint coach at North Salinas, told The Times his daughter was 'doing better' but still trying to cope with everything that unfolded Saturday afternoon at Buchanan High in Clovis. 'Clara's hurt. She's hurt right now,' David Adams said Wednesday. 'She's better today than Saturday. Saturday was fresh. It just happened. It was a shock. She felt numb. They made her sit there and watch while they put those other girls on the podium, knowing Clara's the fastest 400-meter runner in the state of California.' Clara Adams has been running competitively since age 6, her father said. She finished fourth in the 400 at last year's state meet and won the event with a state-best time of 53.23 at the Central Coast Section championships last month. After posting the top qualifying time in Friday's preliminaries, Adams surged ahead of Madison Mosby of St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood to win the race with a time of 53.24. Immediately afterward, Adams walked over to the wall in front of the stands and found her father, who reached down and handed her what he described as a 'small' fire extinguisher. She then walked back across the track into the grass, where she sprayed her cleats as if she was putting out a fire — a move her father said was a tribute to former U.S. sprinter Maurice Greene, who similarly celebrated his win in the 100 at the 2004 Home Depot Invitational in Carson. CIF officials apparently were not amused and disqualified Adams on the spot, awarding first place to Mosby. According to rules established by the National Federation of State High School Assns., 'unsporting conduct' is defined as behavior that includes but is not limited to 'disrespectfully addressing an official, any flagrant behavior, intentional contact, taunting, criticizing or using profanity directed toward someone.' The penalty is disqualification from the event in which the behavior took place and further competition in the meet. The CIF did not respond to a request for comment from The Times. According to David Adams, the officials 'were really nasty' toward his daughter. They 'tugged on her arm,' he said, 'they were screaming in her face. I could hear it from where I was at. I could see it — I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but they were just really nasty.' Clara Adams said she specifically asked the officials to speak with her father about the disqualification, but they refused. 'They kept telling me, 'It's OK,' and I was telling them, 'It's not OK,' and they didn't care,' she said. 'They were trying to smile in my face, like them telling me 'no' amused them or something.' David Adams said the officials would only speak to North Salinas head coach Alan Green, who declined to speak to The Times for this story. 'They told him that it was unsportsmanlike conduct,' David Adams said of the officials' discussion with Green. 'We were asking for the rule, the specific rule of what she did, and they didn't really give anything. It was more of a gray area that gives them discretion to pick and choose what they feel is unsportsmanlike conduct.' Adams disputes that his daughter behaved in a manner that could be considered unsportsmanlike. 'Looking at the film, Clara is nowhere near any opponent,' he said. 'She's off the track, on the grass. Her opponents are long gone off the track already, so she wasn't in their face. It was a father-daughter moment. ... She did it off the track because she didn't want to seem disrespectful toward nobody. And they still found a reason to take her title away. They didn't give her a warning or anything.' He added that his daughter is a 'very humble, really sweet kid.' 'I take responsibility for the situation. I'm taking full responsibility,' he said. 'Clara has run several championship races and won and walked off the track. It's just weird that she celebrates one time and now people, these strangers, these middle-aged people want to chase after her character?' Greene, the four-time Olympic medalist who inspired Clara's celebration, told KSBW-TV in Salinas that the CIF should reconsider its decision. 'If [the celebration] was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her,' Greene said. David Adams said he is trying to make that happen but so far the CIF won't return his calls . 'We have an attorney on standby right now,' he said. 'I don't want to take it there, but I will fight this all the way. As long as I'm breathing I'm gonna fight it. But we're trying to go through proper channels to give the CIF an opportunity to do the right thing. Having an attorney involved is our last resort, that means we tried everything.'
Los Angeles Times
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Long Beach Poly boys' 4x400 relay team shines at state track and field championships
CLOVIS, Calif. — The stars close the show and Long Beach Poly's 4x400-meter relay brought the crowd to its feet with a stunning performance in the final race of the CIF State Track & Field Finals, winning in 3 minutes 8.68 seconds for the second-fastest time ever in the state meet. The top four teams ran sub-3:10, making it the fastest four-lapper ever in the finals on depth. The Jackrabbits just missed the state meet record of 3:08.42 set in 2010 by a Gardena Serra foursome anchored by Robert Woods, running the fourth-fastest time in California history. Central East of Fresno was second in 3:09.23, Servite took third in 3:09.46 to clinch the team title with 33 points, L.A. Cathedral took fourth in 3:09.59 and Long Beach Wilson was fifth in 3:10.55. Sprinters headlined Friday's prelims but it was the distance runners who played leading roles Saturday at Buchanan High School. Rylee Blade has made a habit of performing her best on the brightest stage and she ran her fastest girls' 3,200-meter race ever (9:50.51) but had to settle for second when she was passed on the last turn by Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery, who won in 9:48.98. 'I knew this would be a kicking race and give [Thomsen] credit, she had a bit more at the end,' said Blade, the Corona Santiago standout who won the state title as a sophomore and was third last year. In a shocking development, Stanford-bound senior Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, last year's boys' 3,200 champion, caught a stomach flu earlier in the afternoon and had to drop out of the race, distraught that he couldn't defend his title. Woodcrest Christian's Eyan Turk took advantage of the race favorite's absence, winning in 8:51.62. Thomsen was involved in another stretch duel in the girls' 1,600 versus another Corona Santiago runner Braelyn Combe, who did not realize she won until times were posted on the scoreboard. 'We were shoulder to shoulder with 100 [meters] to go and pushed each other to the end,' said Comb, who won by five-hundredths of a second in a personal-best of 4:35.64, the second-fastest in the country this year and fifth fastest in state history. 'I've never been that close to someone at the finish line. I closed my eyes and prayed and when I looked up at the board I burst into tears. I've never wanted anything more in my life. I'm so happy. My family drove five hours up here to watch.' Combe, a junior who took second in the 1,600 last year, credits her victory to training with Blade, who she called 'unbelievable.' 'It's a blessing to have her on my team, she's the best pacing partner,' said Combe, who capped off her day by anchoring the Sharks' 4x800-meter relay, which ran 8:49.01 to establish a new state meet record. 'It's a real advantage for me.' Looking like an Olympic gymnast, Loren Webster stuck her landing on her fifth attempt in the girls' long jump, a personal-best 21 feet, 0¼ inches that earned her first-place by three and a half inches over transgender athlete A.B. Hernandez, who beat Webster at the Southern Section Masters Meet and posted the top qualifying mark Friday. 'I'm glad I was able to win to honor my jump coach who has worked with me since my first year jumping as a sophomore,' the teary-eyed senior said of Carl Hampton, who died of cancer May 24, the day of the Masters Meet. 'I PR'd by a couple of inches. I was injured most of the season but I knew what I was capable of and I knew today was the only day that mattered.' Hernandez went on to win the triple jump and tied for first with Lelani Laruelle of Monte Vista and Jillene Wetteland of Long Beach Poly in the high jump at 5-07. JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame cleared 6-09 to win the boys high jump after finishing second at the state meet last year. 'I knew I would win but honestly, I'm not happy,' said the Knights' junior, whose personal-best was 7-0¼ last year. 'I was on fire in the lower heights, getting over easily but once it got to seven feet I forgot my form.' Giving Harel a high-five after his win was Notre Dame senior Aja Johnson, who won the girls' shot put for the second time in three years with a throw of 45-05¾. 'It's not a PR or anything but at least I won it for my school. ... I'm happy about that,' said Johnson, who is going to college at Louisville. Oaks Christian's girls repeated as 4x100 champions in 46.08, edging Long Beach Poly (46.18) for the second year in a row. Servite won the boys 4x100 relay in 40.27, one hundredth of a second faster than its prelim time. Concord De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson won the boys' 100 meters in 10.27, followed by Servite's Benjamin Harris (10.31), Alemany's Demare Dezeurn (10.39) and Rancho Cucamonga's RJ Sermons (10.48). Temecula Valley's Jack Stadlman won the 400 meters in 46.02 and took second in the 200 meters in 20.82. Sermons, who had to win a run-off Friday to gain the last qualifying spot, finished sixth in the 200 in 21.05. Long Beach Wilson successfully defended its 4x400 girls relay title.
