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BARNSTABLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Days from her graduation, a Barnstable high school senior was not allowed to compete in the state Track and Field championships because of a paperwork error.
Rhiannon Vos graduates from Monomoy Regional High School on Saturday. She was set to run in the MIAA's Meet of Champions at Fitchburg State University on Thursday when her coaches noticed she was not on the list of approved runners.
They quickly began to understand why: despite qualifying for the race, Vos' school had accidentally entered her time incorrectly. Despite pleas from the family and Monomoy High, the MIAA refused to budge.
Rep. Steve Xiarhos (R-Barnstable 5th) said that's when they got him involved.
"I spoke with the school athletic director, I spoke with Rhiannon's coach, they feel horrible and they didn't realize it until they saw her name not on the list," Rep. Xiarhos told WBZ's Chaiel Schaffel.
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The MIAA told WBZ NewsRadio that they wouldn't let her run despite the error since they had to "remain consistent" and fair to others who submitted correct paperwork. The organization did not want to set a precedent of rule-breaking as others have made similar mistakes and were unable to participate.
"Unfortunately, we do get a handful of inaccurate submissions and timeline violations. Because we must remain consistent in our adherence to the protocols set forth by our membership, we continue to remain consistent and fair to all of our member schools that did submit accurate data and stayed within required timeline commitments (1270 registrants for this particular meet)," a spokesperson for MIAA said. "We have been consistent with all decisions before this request and chose to do so in this instance."
Xiarhos said he doesn't care if it sets a precedent.
"It's not like anyone is disputing the facts, she qualified, this should be fixed and if it sets a precedent that's okay," he said. "This was her last run as a high school student, she qualified for it, and because of a clerical error she was not allowed to run even though there was plenty of time to just say yes."
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