BEACHWOOD, Ohio — The Beachwood High School track team will be allowed to participate in the Ohio Indoor State Track and Field Championships this weekend at Geneva's SPIRE Institute after a Cuyahoga County judge granted an injunction.
As 3News reported on Thursday, the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches (OATCCC), the organizers of the meet, had ruled the team ineligible to compete because their coach, Willie Smith, didn't register them in time for the event.
Smith acknowledges it was his responsibility to do so, but says this year the registration dates were different than he expected. The OATCCC says coaches were sent several emails and were given information at an annual meeting held in January that Smith attended.
According to the OATCCC, Smith called the organization on Sunday, February 27, asking for an exception to the rule. "He (Smith) admitted that he missed the deadline and promised not to tell anyone if the OATCCC would let his team in after the deadline so it would not appear that OATCCC offered him any favors. He also offered as a solution that the OATCCC at least allow his boys’ team in and not his girls’ team," the OATCC wrote in a statement.
On Friday, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Callahan ruled that "immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage" would result to Beachwood's athletes if their motion for a restraining order against the OATCCC's decision was not granted. You can read Callahan's ruling below.
3News has reached out to the OATCCC President Andrew Cox for reaction to the court's decision and will post any response we receive.
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