[The Philadelphia Inquirer] New Jersey Sports
Tuesday, November 19, 1996
Paul VI allowed in Meet of Champions
By John McBride
INQUIRER CORRESPONDENT
The ordinary way for a team to qualify for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions
cross-country race is to place among the top three in its group at the
state championships.
Paul VI found another avenue to the final race of the high school season,
which will be held Saturday at Holmdel Park.
Because officials could not find its entry form, the Paul VI boys' team --
one of the top teams in the state -- was not allowed to enter the state
Parochial A championship race last Saturday.
Eagles coach Jose Loyola, who hadn't received verification through the mail
that his form had been accepted, called meet director Walt Chesney a day
before the race to find out what happened.
According to Loyola, Chesney confirmed that the boys' entry was there.
On Saturday, however, Chesney said that he had not received the entry and
that, because of legal issues, the Eagles couldn't run.
Yesterday, Loyola and school officials faxed copies of Paul VI's entry form
and the receipt of the entry-fee check. Chesney told Loyola that if he
brought notarized copies of three papers, including the entry form, Paul VI
could compete in the Meet of Champions.
``I'm happy the kids got in, but I'm still upset that we didn't run in the
state meet,'' Loyola said. ``They were jumping up and down in the classroom
when I told them they could run. They're fired up. They're going to run
their best race of the year.''
