Track 101

A.  Order of Events:

Typically the Order of events for a dual meet are as follows with;

• 1. Boys JV 

  2. ALL Girls 

  3. Boys Varsity third

Running events order:

• • 1. 4x800M Relay (four runners, each runs 800 meters (2 laps))

    2. 4X100M Relay (four runners, each runs 100 meters (1/4 lap))

    3. 1600M

    4. 100M Intermediate hurdles (G)/110M High hurdles (B)

    5. 400M

    6. 100M

    7. 800M

    8. 300M Low hurdles (G)/Intermediate hurdles (B)

    9. 200M

    10. 3200M

    11. 4X400M Relay (four runners, each runs 400 meters (1 lap))

Field events:

Field events are Shot Put, Discus, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, and Pole Vault.

Start times for our dual meets are 4PM with the last event (4X400M Relay) around7PM or so. Field events are spread throughout with start/finish times up to meet management.

B.  Scoring:

Dual meet the scoring is as follows:

All Events except Relays:

• • 5 pts for 1st

  • 3 pts for 2nd

  • 1 pt for 3rd

For Relays:

•  5 pts for 1st

• 0 pts for 2nd

Therefore, with 16 events (2 relays) our team needs 69 pts to win a dual meet

Invitations all have their own order of events.  You can usually find a time schedule in our calendar entries or on Athletic.net.  See the link on our Schedule & Meet Results page.

Invitationals, where there are multiple teams, the scoring is usually:

• 10 points for first

• 8 points for second

• 6 points for third

• 5 points for fourth

• 4 points for fifth

• 3 points for sixth

• 2 point for seventh

• 1 point for eighth

So, at CIF Finals, if you take 8th place you get 1 pt for SR! (i.e. 10 points for 1st place and 1 point for 8th place)

If there is a tie, in say the High Jump, where the 2 top jumpers have cleared 6’ 0”. The winner is determined by fewer misses at lower heights. If they are still tied, then the two athletes split first and second place pts, or 5 + 3 = 8/2 = 4 pts each.

C.  How a Dual Meet is Run:

• 2 days before the meet, the athlete’s coach puts his/her name on a T&F card that is used for the upcoming competition and that info is loaded onto Athletic.net.

• Around 3:45 on meet day, the meet announcer, or home coach will make the first call for the Boys and Girls 4x800M Relay (first event) teams. Then a second and third (or final call) are made so that the meet can start at 4PM. Throughout the meet, the Announcer will make similar calls for all events. All athletes are EXPECTED to remain at the meet until the last event is done

• When the athlete hears their event being called, they have to check in with the Clerk of the Course. Once that is done, they finish their warm-ups and their event will start shortly thereafter. Failure to check in results in a disqualification.

• Once the athlete’s event is done, their time/mark will be recorded on the previously mentioned T&F card. Those marks will then be downloaded onto Athletic.net.

• Running events – if you False Start you are disqualified. If you run on the line for 3 or more steps on the curves, you are DQed.

• Field events – for SP, Discus, LJ, TJ you usually get 3 attempts to get your best mark. For HJ and PV you get 3 attempts at each height.

• Scoring is 5-3-1 (Relays are 5-0) for first, second, third with 69 pts needed to win. A 68-68 tie IS possible.

D.  Varsity Letter: Varsity letters in Track are given based on the athlete competing at the Varsity level 4 times (4 pts) during the year.

We have 6 dual meets and numerous Invitationals to do this. Most of the Invitationals are for Varsity caliber athletes only.

The athlete will gain a pt towards a letter when he/she:

• 1. Competes in a dual meet at the Varsity level

  2. Competes in an Invitational

  3. Is good enough to compete in League prelims at the end of the season

  4. Has a time/mark that qualifies as Varsity level (Ex. 4:59 for Boys 1600). All these times/marks are listed below.

E.  Relays and The Track:

• Track:  The track is 400 meters for one lap, or approx. 2.5 yards short of a ¼ mile. So, 4 laps = 1600M which is ~ 9 meters short of a mile.

• Relays:  

1. Uniforms for the team:  Relays are run with 4 members of a team. The “team” MUST all be dressed identically, down to the compression undergarments if they are visible.

2. Technique:  Runner #1 comes up on runner #2 where there is small triangle on the track to denote the 10 meter acceleration zone. Once he/she crosses over the big triangle, he/she is in the passing zone (20 meters) where the baton can be passed. If the baton is judged to be passed outside the zone, the team is disqualified.

F.  Marks for CIF SDS and State:

Here is information about qualifying for the 2025 for CIF SDS meets and the  State meet:

QUALIFYING – LEAGUE/CONFERENCE MEETS INTO THE DIVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Each division will have twenty seven (27) entries in each of the fourteen (14) individual events.  There will be eighteen (18) entries in each of the three (3) relay events.

Each league/conference will receive one (1) automatic entry (The league/conference champion in each event). 

Each athlete or relay team who achieves the qualifying standard at their league/conference finals, will be automatically entered.  If there are still openings short of the minimum 27 entries per individual event and 18 entries in the relays, the Seeding Committee will select the best of all at-large nominees submitted in order to reach 27 or 18 entries.  Note: In the verticals, it may be less than 27 if a clear break occurs.

QUALIFYING FROM THE DIVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS INTO THE SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS

A total of 18 athletes from the three Divisional Championships will qualify for the Section Championships.

The top 2 athletes/relay teams in each division in each event will qualify for the Section Championships.

The remaining 12 spots will be filled by the best marks from any division.

At any time, in the Section Championships, there will be a minimum of 2 athletes/relay teams from each division.

Tie breaker rules will be used to separate any ties.  Timing to the 1000th of a second in the running events, Second best mark for the horizontal field events, and NFHS tie breaking rules for the vertical field events.

QUALIFYING FROM THE SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP INTO THE STATE PRELIMS

The top three (3) athletes or relay teams overall from any of the heats/flights of every event automatically qualify for the state prelims.  Exception:  The top two (2) 4x800m relay teams automatically qualify.

In addition to our three (3) automatics, all athletes or relay teams from any of the heats/flights who meet or better the state auto mark also qualify for the state prelims.