Hot Topic: NJSIAA MOCs Conflicts With National Meets Again

NJ State Meet Coverage
Jim Lambert


Student athletes who have advanced to the NJSIAA Meet of Champions are once again facing tough choices about participating in the meet due to conflicts. This has stirred up another round of discussion over the scheduling of the New Jersey state meet series.

For the second year in a row, coaches across the state have expressed their frustration and disappointment with the scheduling of the Meet of Champions, which was compounded by the meet being postponed from Wednesday to Thursday. The event starts at the same time, 2:00pm, and place, Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ.

The postponement, which occurred due to the threat of lightning and severe weather, means MOCs is now overlapping with the opening days of both the New Balance Nationals Outdoors in Philadelphia and the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon. On top of that, the Brooks PR Invitational in Washington was today.

This scenario has caused many coaches and athletes to scramble while changing their event, travel, prom and gradation plans, as well as make very difficult and emotional choices between competing at MOCs or a national meet and or attending proms and graduations.

Example of Top Stars Adjusting Travel

A perfect example of having to scramble to change plans involves seniors Brian Boler of Delbarton School and Megan Donlevie of Shore Regional HS.

Boler and Donlevie, two of the best distance runners in the state, both planned to race at the Meet of Champions on Wednesday and fly out on Thursday to run at Nike Nationals Outdoor. 

While they could have kept their travel plans the same if they skipped the MOCs, they didn't want to miss their last chance to run at the top level of the state championship series. They called an audible and scrambled to find flights out on Friday so they could compete in both meets.

The whole scheduling issue, which was much worse last year, has once again sparked calls for change from coaches across the state.

How Did This Happen in the First Place?

After years of the state sectional championships being held on Memorial Day weekend, the NJSIAA, citing a shortage of officials and additional site workers, pushed the sectionals back a week later in 2021. That resulted in the Meet of Champions being held on the third Saturday of June. That same schedule remained in place last season.

Last year, the Meet of Champions was held on Saturday, June 18th. New Balance Nationals Outdoor and Nike Outdoor Nationals were scheduled for June 16th-19th, and the adidas Outdoor Nationals were June 17-19.

As a result, many of the state's biggest stars had to choose where to compete, and many opted to skip the Meet of Champions, which made what has always been the greatest event of the season very diluted.

NJSIAA Will Discuss a Solution for the Conflict

The NJSIAA did make a change heading into 2023 to address the issue by moving the meet to a midweek date, originally scheduled for Wednesday, June 15th, before postponement. Making it a bit easier for athletes and coaches to navigate this part of the season.

But the track and field community feels more should have be done to completely solve the scheduling dilemma.

Al Stumpf, the NJSIAA Track and Field Tournament Director, said he plans to do everything he can to avoid this from happening again.

"I will be discussing at the postseason track committee meeting the possibility of changing the sectional meet to the week before Memorial Day,'' said Stumpf. "It was presented by River Dell AD Denis Nelson and his coach (Mike Urso) to the postseason committee last year.''

Stumpf added that any proposal would have to be fully vetted by the NJSIAA and the Program Review Committee before it became a reality.


Coaches Weigh In

Several coaches around the state weighed in with their thoughts on the MOCs postponement and how the scheduling conflict can be avoided in the future.

Some also voiced their concern about the future of the prestigious Meet of Champions, which will celebrate its 54th year on Thursday.

Here is what they had to to say.


River Dell coach Mike Urso:

"I went with my AD to the post season meeting last year and voiced my complaints about having the state sectionals so late. I proposed moving the the meet back to Memorial Day weekend or the week earlier and have the state group meet return to the traditional first weekend in June. Then SMOC the following Wednesday or weekend. I believe we had a great setup prior to Covid and put on one of the best state meet series which concluded with SMOC, one of the best meets in the country every year attended by coaches from all over.

Now we have a diluted meet that has lost a lot of luster. So disappointing.

I am hopeful that the sectional meets will move to the weekend before Memorial Day and the Groups and SMOC move back to the traditional first and second weeks in June for many reasons, including nationals. Seven of our seniors aren't going to the Meet of Champions. They all have Prom tomorrow night.

While conflict with nationals is a problem, I find it to conflict more with all the senior activities that are happening this week. Awards dinners, graduations, senior trips. Track athletes are usually some of the best kids in the school and should be forced to choose when it could so easily be remedied.''


Freehold Township coach Todd Briggs:

"The weather is impossible, especially in NJ and especially in June. Could be a catastrophic storm, but also could be a passing shower. The larger concern is coming off of today and what took place last year with the schedule conflicting with nationals.

Does this further motivate the NJSIAA to no longer have MOC? That's the bigger picture concern by far for me. Not having this meet anymore would be devastating to the sport at the high school level in my opinion.''


Metuchen coach Marty Holleran:

"Not sure what they could have done today. The forecast wasn't the best and having been a meet director, I know the threat of lightning and bad weather can keep you up at night.

Moving the meet is going to affect everyone with graduation, nationals and such, so I guess the best solution would be to go back to sectionals earlier. I know they thought having the meet on Wednesday was a compromise, but in reality it did very little to offset the issue.''


Cherokee coach Mark Jarvis:

"Today's news was very disappointing. We had this week all mapped out for quite some time. Our  biggest conflict is the 4xmile which is tomorrow night. I can't imagine schools that are now having to navigate graduations. 

I guess my biggest complaint was the fact that they called it so early. The weather looks like they could have just pushed the start of the meet back. This shouldn't be more than a 3 1/2 hour meet. Even go 4 hours, start at 5 and you are done by 9. That is about the same time the State Group meet finished. So now I have to decide between a seniors last chance to compete at Meet of Champions vs a relay that could be racing at Nationals.

I realize there are a lot of unhappy coaches, athletes and parents, but it seems that the NJSIAA keeps putting themselves in bad positions. Take last week. It made no sense to me to make that a one day meet while they still had NJSIAA events happening on Friday. Again a knee jerk reaction to something.

There needs to be plans put in place in terms of the protocol of making decisions like this. Maybe there is maybe there isn't, but to the outside eye there doesn't appear to be. I have half of my girls in tears over this. Upperclassman wanted an opportunity to run an individual event at the meet of champions, and my underclassmen won an opportunity to run on a relay that has the potential of medaling. As I stated before, this is for all very unfortunate.''


Middletown North coach Brock Silvestri:

"Since the state meets were pushed back a week later on the calendar a few years ago, the list of issues and problems has grown more than ever.  With these meets occurring during the last week of school for many student athletes, they are forced to have to make difficult decisions on graduations, proms, senior awards, final exams, and competing at Nationals. Many students and coaches are making difficult decisions over the last two weeks of school, missing out on school and family functions to compete and attend these meets.

Having it later in the year also creates less flexibility for changes or postponements. It was a difficult conversation to have with our team today about how to handle the meet being moved. My heart breaks for these kids making difficult decisions on what to do. We have 2 individuals and 2 relays that qualified for MOC.

Only our javelin thrower will attend, to throw his three throws and leave to make graduation on time, even if he makes finals. 

My suggestion for the future is to move the state meets up a weekend, back to how it originally was, and keeping MOC during a weekday.

I hope that with the current issues the last few years the state does not look to get rid of this meet, but rather come up with a solution."


Princeton coach Ben Samara:

"As I write this, the chances of thunderstorms are slightly increasing for later in the day, so, I understand the sentiment behind this decision. However, the decision came too late, especially for teams in the far north or south of the state.

The NJSIAA has once again put athletes in a position - this time with very late notice - to have to choose between the Meet of Champions and important life events (graduation, etc.) and the National meets. Was there consideration given to athletes who may have had flights or hotels booked or to those who had families flown in for graduations? Could a decision have been made a few days ago or yesterday, when we had very similar weather reporting?

Again, I understand wanting to avoid inclement weather, but these athletes are now being put, once again, in a no-win situation. Our squad will be missing several seniors, including some potential medalists, who will be attending their graduation. We fully support them in that decision.

The bottom line is that our state meets are not the top-quality HS showcases that you might see elsewhere or that they are touted to be. Due to the unpredictable nature of these meets and the ongoing potential for problems with sites, officials, management, timing, etc., I would encourage - and have have encouraged - athletes to choose the other activity when presented with these conflicts.

We did not attend the indoor state meets this year due to the state's negligence in getting the regs posted in a timely fashion before switching the dates back and forth multiple times. Just another example of these issues we see year after year.

To those who will be competing tomorrow, congratulations on qualifying and best of luck in your events! To those who will be choosing to forgo the Meet of Champions, do not regret your decision and do not look backwards! In my opinion, there's no wrong choice here from the athlete's perspective.''

Pennsauken coach Phil Zimmerman:

"There isn't anything that can be done about weather. Coaching at a school that hosts these big meets, I understand the logistics surrounding what to do with large crowds when there is inclement weather. I've been involved in those conversations. I think the bigger issue is the length of our season, and the scheduling of the state meets.

I get that the officials didn't want to lose their Memorial Day weekend anymore, and can't say I blame them. So if that's the case, we need to have the Sectional meet the weekend before Memorial Day. Then, teams have 2 weeks off to prepare for Groups. We could then go back to a Saturday MOC, and still be a week away from the National meets.

Additionally, seniors wouldn't have to worry about missing out on their end-of-year events and obligations with a mid-week MOC, such as senior picnics and, more importantly, graduation. 

Of course, part of the timing of our outdoor season is because of how late our indoor season goes. It's a domino effect. But, Pennsylvania starts their outdoor track meets a week earlier than us, which allows them to get to their State meet earlier. So, it can be done.

With a meet this size there was no way to fit it in with any delay. I believe the right call was made because any delay would of made it more of a mess. The elephant in the room is that the season is too long and as all spring sports the season should of been completed 2 weeks ago. If we had any wiggle room none of these conflicts would matter. Unfortunately it is what it is and we are looking forward to a great meet tomorrow.''


Scotch Plains-Fanwood coach Jeff Koegel:

"I'm hoping that this can be avoided in the future. The simple solution is to have Sectionals and Groups earlier and then have MOC the Thursday or Friday the week before Nationals.

The current solution gets caught up with final exams, graduations, and nationals. It isn't fair to the kids, and this meet is supposed to be for them. It should be one of the biggest spectacles in high school sports.''


Ocean City coach Tim Cook:

"My thoughts are solely on the kids and their experience. It's such an honor for an athlete to qualify for MOC. It's also quite the accomplishment to qualify for Nationals. It's a shame that some athletes are back in the situation of choosing between the two.

It's never ideal having to make that decision, but we are going to proceed the best we can with the situation at hand.

 In the future, I am hoping there can be more collaborative communication that will prevent conflicts and keep our kids at the forefront of our sport.''


South Brunswick coach Wil Rivera:

"I think the weeks in between seasons sets up to hamstring all parties involved. The state listened and pivoted to Wednesday this year, which was an improvement from last year, but now more hiccups.

I think the biggest issue is the lack of contingency plans clearly defined. They wait for a problem to appear before they ever consider solutions and leaves everyone frustrated. Knowing contingency plans ahead of time can allow coaches/athletes to make sound decisions, and instead we get a decision that everyone questions.''


Hunterdon Central coach Jon DeLisle:

"I think one solution may be to compete Memorial Day weekend the way we used to so we can create a week of separation between groups and MOC.

The state's goal should be to maintain the integrity of the MOC. If the NJSIAA continues to schedule the MOC so close to the national meets, the most elite athletes are going to choose nationals because they consider it more prestigious--right or wrong. I am not a big advocate for nationals unless an athlete or relay is elite. Let's call these meets what they are for most people--a money grab by the shoe companies. Additionally, they are basically regional meets for people who can afford to attend them.

The MOC provides access to all of our state's best athletes, which is why it must be protected.''

Lakeland coach Damiano Conforti:

"With a meet this size there was no way to fit it in with any delay. I believe the right call was made because any delay would of made it more of a mess.

The elephant in the room is that the season is too long and as all spring sports, the season should have been completed two weeks ago. If we had any wiggle room, none of these conflicts would matter. Unfortunately, it is what it is and we are looking forward to a great meet tomorrow.''


Union Catholic coach Mike McCabe:

"It is unfortunate that the M of C and nationals conflict still exists. My hope is that sectionals can be the weekend before Memorial Day weekend. Groups the weekend after Memorial Day and MOC the Wednesday after Groups. That allows for 9-10 days between M of C and Nationals."


West Windsor Plainsboro-North coach Brian Gould:

"Yes, the big issue is no meet Memorial Day weekend. That combined with the shortened season just leaves too little time for these meets. Nationals has always been this weekend but sectionals in June is really tough."


Hillsborough coach Rich Refi:

"I think sectionals should be the weekend before Memorial Day followed by Groups two weeks later, and then MOC the following Wednesday. If this happened a week ago, nobody would have a problem. Tough choice today. Raining pretty well here, six miles away from Franklin.''

Seton Hall Prep coach Steve Trembley:

"Well, I can understand how athletes have evolved into placing Nationals over the Meet of Champs largely because of the mistakes made by NJSIAA during the past winter seasons of the last 10 to 15 years or so. Their refusal to secure a top facility such as the Armory or Ocean Breeze for the Meet of Champs really created this situation. For example, in 2009 Clayton Parros (the outdoor state record holder in the 400 from Seton Hall Prep) opted out of the Meet of Champs because he could run at the Easterns at the Armory two days later and secure a fast time in the process.

Meet Management should always, always guarantee they are doing everything they can to ascertain that every athlete should leave with a chance for a PR. Did this happen this past weekend when the NJSIAA contested 12 hour track meets? Is this possible when the long jump and triple jumps aren't flighted? No!! Kids standing on runways waiting their turn to jump, athletes running the 4x400 at 9:30 at night when they had to leave their homes at 6:45 in the morning to catch a bus!!!

Unfortunately, the annually repeated actions of the NJSIAA may leave one wondering if money is being placed ahead of our athletes. It's high time that the coaches come out of the shadows, band together, and demand more for our athletes.''

NJSIAA Meet of Champions Coverage

The meet is scheduled to take place on June 15th at 2:00pm at Franklin HS in Somerset, NJ.

NJSIAA Group State Championships Coverage

All of our NJSIAA Group State Championship coverage will be linked below. All the race videos we had from the weekend have been reuploaded for both locations.

Groups 1, 4, NPA

Groups 2, 3, NPB

Merges & Overall Group Content