Clock Wise : High School Track Records Are Made to Be Broken--or at Least Confusing

The seemingly endless assault on the record books by sprint sensation Marion Jones of Rio Mesa High has illuminated the difficulty that statisticians have had in tracking her records. Keeping up with Jones--literally and figuratively--has been a difficult pursuit.

Many of the variables used in record-keeping--electronic timing versus hand timing, wind factor, dual sanctioning bodies--have come into play, which has made monitoring the feats of speedsters such as Jones a confusing enterprise.

For example, two judges with hand-held stopwatches simultaneously time a sprinter at 9.8 seconds in the 100-meter dash in a high school track meet. On the same day in another dual meet, a runner clocks 10.04 seconds on an Accutrack fully automatic timer.

Which time is faster?

To the naked eye, the 9.8 mark clearly is the better of the two, but technically the times are the same.

Additionally, both marks are better than the boys’ national high school record recognized by the National High School Federation, but neither runner can claim a National Federation record. And that’s even before wind conditions at each meet are taken into account.

Consider the factors that influence record-keeping in high school meets:

* Times recorded by hand-held watches are considered much less accurate than a mark recorded by an electronic timing system because the electronic system minimizes human error. Therefore, national rules mandate that all hand-held times must be rounded off to the next full one-tenth of a second.

* International track officials, in order to account for the margin of error between hand-held times and fully automatic times, add .24 seconds to hand-held marks in races of less than 400 meters and .14 seconds to manual times in the 400 to equate it to an electronic time.

Thus, the 9.8 hand-held mark mentioned above, combined with the .24 allowance, equates to a 10.04 time.

* In addition, at least three judges must record the same hand-held clocking in order for a runner to set a national record. The runner mentioned above who clocked 9.8 ran faster than the National Federation 100-meter mark of 9.9, but because only two judges recorded the time, the previous record stands.

* In the second example given above, the runner’s 10.04 electronic time is better than the all-time national record of 10.13, but the National Federation ignores all times posted in meets that include fewer than five high schools.

* The above notwithstanding, the 10.04 clocking becomes the all-time national high school record, recognized by Track & Field News. That national magazine has different requirements than the National Federation, a situation that often establishes two national record-holders in each event.

Of course, that 10.04 clocking will be thrown out if the time was established under windy conditions. International track officials refuse to recognize records at any level if a runner is aided by a tail wind that exceeds 2.0 meters per second.

HAND-HELD VS. ACCUTRACK

The standard method for timing races in high school dual meets is with a hand-held watch.

Using a hand-held watch in meets with high-caliber athletes can lead to inconsistencies with record keeping--particularly in the sprints and hurdles when records can fall by fractions of a second.

Case in point: Seven area sprinters have timed 10.6 seconds in the 100 on a hand-held watch this year, but only three have run close to the equivalent electronic mark of 10.84 in a meet in which electronic timing was used.

In fact, one runner who reportedly has run a hand-held 10.6 this season failed to better 11 seconds in a meet in which fully automatic timing was used.

In California, electronic timing is used in major meets, including all postseason meets, and hand-held timing is used as a backup. However, the opposite holds true in Texas, where hand timing is the rule in major competitions and Accutrack systems are used as a backup.

Not surprisingly, Texas boasts the National Federation record-holders in all three boys’ sprint events, the 100, 200 and 400.

Henry Neal of Greenville (Tex.) High timed 9.9 in the 100 in the Texas state championships last year. Because three judges recorded the same time on their hand-held watches, the mark stands as a National Federation record.

“We’re doing what the schools want us to do,” said Peter Contreras, public information director for the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of high school sports in Texas. “When the schools want us to go to FAT (fully automatic timing), then that’s what we’ll do.”

Doug Speck, a correspondent with California Track & Running News magazine, criticizes Texas’ timing methods in high school meets.

“What the Texas people do is bogus,” Speck said.

Neal’s 9.9 time is listed as the Federation record in the 100, but his best time electronically is 10.15, which is slower than the all-time best of 10.13 by Derrick Florence of Ball High in Galveston, Tex.

Roy Martin of Roosevelt High in Dallas set his Federation 200 record in the 1985 state final, running 20.0, which converts to 20.24. However, Martin also holds the all-time high school record with a fully automatic 20.13.

In the 400, Anthony Ketchum of Needleville High and Roddie Haley of Texarkana High won the 1981 and 1984 Texas state titles, respectively, in 45.5, a mark that both share as the Federation record. Yet 45.5 ranks only 13th on the all-time list, which is led by Darrell Robinson of Tacoma, Wash., who clocked 44.69 in 1982.

“Our rules specify that we will accept a hand-held time if three watches show the same time,” said Frank Kovaleski, assistant director in charge of records for the National Federation. “There might be some time down the road when the (track and field rules) committee might make a ruling that only (fully automatic times) will be acceptable. But as of right now, that is not the case.”

At the collegiate, national and international levels, however, only fully automatic times are acceptable for record purposes in races 400 meters or less.

Almost all hand-held, digital stopwatches keep time to the hundredth of a second, and Federation rules stipulate that hand-held times must be rounded to the next full tenth of a second. Thus a 10.63 mark on a hand-held watch would become 10.7, according to Federation rules.

Because of an error in Federation records, Jones, the Rio Mesa sophomore sprinter, had to wait an additional week before she was given credit for breaking Barbara Bell’s record in the 100.

Bell timed a Federation record 11.29 seconds as a Trimble (Fort Worth, Tex.) Tech senior in 1982, but that time was hand-held, according to Contreras of the UIL. Contreras added that the time should have been rounded to 11.3, the equivalent of 11.54 on an automatic timer.

In the Southern Section 3-A Division final May 17, Jones ran 11.30, which is technically faster than a hand-held 11.3. One week later in the Masters meet, the Rio Mesa sophomore ran 11.28 to break Bell’s listed “automatic” time.

Jones broke her own National Federation record in the 100 in the state final June 1, running 11.17 seconds. However, that is not the fastest performance of her high school career because of wind considerations.

WIND-AIDED TIMES

Jones timed 11.12 in winning her heat in the state preliminaries May 31, but because runners were aided by a 4.1 meters-per-second tail wind, the time was not recorded as a Federation record. Instead, Jones’ 11.12 is the No. 2 all-time performance by a high school girl under any conditions.

Because of the wind factor, Track & Field News publishes two all-time high school lists in the 100, 200, 110 high hurdles and 100 low hurdles. The primary list--which includes the all-time national high school record--consists of times run with an allowable wind. The secondary list reflects wind-aided times. Measured with a wind gauge, the maximum allowable wind in races 200 meters or less--as well as the long and triple jumps--is 2.0 meters per second. Anything in excess of 2.0 is considered wind-aided.

For example, Quincy Watts, the former Taft High sprinter now at USC, ran a 10.30 100 with an allowable wind in The Athletics Congress Junior Olympics meet in Provo, Utah, as a junior in 1987. In the same year, however, Watts timed 10.17 to win the City Section title, but the time was wind-aided.

The wind factor is a precise measurement that resulted from a series of tests done more than 50 years ago by Nobel Prize winner A. V. Hill and veteran track observer P. N. Heidenstrom of New Zealand. They constructed a chart that reflects the wind’s effects on sprinters.

For instance, Jones’ 11.12 time in the state prelims was aided by a 4.1 tail wind. According to the chart, had there been no wind, her time would have been 11.41.

“I read a statistic that about 17% of your effort (in a 100-meter race) is battling the air that is already there,” Speck said. “If the wind is 1.0 meters per second, then you’re using only about 8% of your energy to fight the air.”

DUAL NATIONAL RECORDS

National Federation records are not the same as the all-time national high school records listed in High School Track, a yearly periodical published by Track & Field News. There sometimes can be two national records in each high school track and field event, including the relays. (See accompanying chart, C14.)

To qualify as a Federation record, a mark or time must have been made in a meet:

1) Sanctioned by a state high school association; 2) involving five or more schools; 3) in an event limited to high school competition.

The all-time national record can be set in any meet against any competition--such as the U. S. Olympic Trials--as long as the athlete is of high school age (between 13 and 19).

Jones, 15, timed 22.87 seconds in the 200 in the Arcadia Invitational on April 13. The time is a Federation record but it is second on the all-time national list. Jones’ Federation-record 11.17 in the 100 ties the second-fastest all-time performance by a high school girl.

Chandra Cheeseborough ran an altitude-aided 22.77 in the 1975 Pan American Games at Mexico City as a junior at Ribault (Jacksonville, Fla.) High. Cheeseborough also holds the all-time record in the 100, running 11.13 to finish second in the 1976 Olympic Trials.

In fact, only nine Federation records--three boys’ marks and six girls’ marks--have also been accepted as the all-time national record with the same marks in their respective events.

The only way to accurately time a sprint race in a high school meet is to use a wind gauge and an Accutrack fully automatic timing system, such as the ones used in the City and Southern Section finals and state championships. But because a new electronic timer costs about $10,000 ($5,000 for a used one) and a wind gauge from $700 to $1,300, high schools will continue to use hand-held watches in dual meets.

Ranking the Records

How National Federation track and field records rank on the all-time U. S. high school list.

National Rank of Federation National Fed Record Event Record Record on Nat’l List 100 9.9h 10.13 2nd 200 20.0h 20.13 5th 400 45.5h 44.69 13th 800 1:47.31 1:46.58 3rd 1,600 3:56.9c 3:53.9c 4th 3,200 8:38.5c 8:33.3c 3rd 110 HH 12.9hy 12.9hy 1st 300 IH 35.32 35.32 1st 400 Relay 40.0h** 40.0h** No Mark 1600 Relay 3:07.40 3:07.40 1st High Jump 7-5 1/4 7-6 2nd Pole Vault 17-9 1/2 18-2 No Mark Long Jump 26-4 3/4 26-9 1/4 6th Triple Jump 52-10 1/2 53-9 1/4 8th Shotput 77-0 81-3 1/2 2nd Discus 224-3 225-2 2nd

Girls

National Rank of Federation National Fed Record Event Record Record on Nat’l List 100 11.17 11.13 2nd 200 22.87 22.77A 2nd 400 52.39 50.87 No Mark 800 2:04.5 2:00.07 No Mark 1,600 4:39.4 4:33.64c 6th 3,200 10:03.7 10:00.0c 2nd 100 LH 13.33* 13.06A No Mark 300 LH 40.18 40.18 1st 400 Relay 45.11 45.11 1st 1600 Relay 3:37.69 3:37.69 1st High Jump 6-2 3/4 6-2 3/4*** 1st Long Jump 22-1 3/4 22-3 No Mark Triple Jump 42-10 1/2 42-10 1/2 1st Shotput 53-7 3/4 53-7 3/4 1st Discus 176-10 183-11 6th

A--Altitude-aided mark; c--Converted mark from yards; h--Hand-held time in sprint events; y--Race was run in yards; *--33-inch hurdles were used instead of the standard 30-inch barriers; ***--Two jumpers have cleared this height; **--Reagan High (Austin, Tex.) holds the National Federation record and Lincoln High (Dallas) holds the all-time U. S. prep record.