Jaleel Dickerson-Dempsey was unfairly disqualified, his parents say, from NJSIAA group championship event
Dickerson-Dempsey, a two-time sectional champion and an indoor state champion, was disqualified from the Group 1 final for knocking over his opponent’s hurdle in the lane next to him.
Jaleel Dickerson-Dempsey, a junior who attends Creative Arts High School in Camden and competes on Camden High’s track and field team, was on the verge of earning the NJSIAA Group 1 sectional championship in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles after finishing first — at 14.32 seconds — in Saturday’s final at Franklin High School in Somerset, N.J.
His first-place finish would have advanced him to Wednesday’s Meet of Champions at Pennsauken High, where the top two finishers in each event automatically qualify to compete for a state crown.
However, Dickerson-Dempsey wasn’t awarded group champion honors. Instead, he was disqualified from the final for knocking over his opponent’s hurdle in the lane next to him, which, according to NJSIAA, interfered with the New Milford High School runner’s ability to complete the race.
An NJSIAA spokesperson wrote in a statement, “Two finish-line officials observed the runner in lane 4 [Dickerson-Dempsey] make contact with both his own hurdle and the hurdle in lane 5. ... Under NFHS Rule 5-14(f), interference with another competitor requires disqualification from the event. Under NFHS Rule 3-4-3, the affected competitor was granted a rerun.
“Immediately following the race, the two officials consulted with the referee, and the disqualification was issued. The decision was communicated to the parties involved at that time. Interference is a judgment call by officials, and judgment calls are not subject to appeal under NFHS rules or NJSIAA policy.”
His parents, Ayanna Dickerson-Bell and Andrew Bell, say the ruling is unfair. Their son knocked over his own hurdle, which is allowed and caused his hurdle to hit another hurdle in the adjacent lane, and while NJSIAA claims Dickerson-Dempsey was “immediately” made of aware of his disqualification, his parents said that they did not find out about the disqualification until 45 minutes later, after the rerun was issued.
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“He gets to the end and he’s declared the winner,” said Bell, who is the superintendent of Woodbury City Public Schools. “You don’t see any official come to him and tell him he’s been disqualified in the race. ... Before the race, normally the officials come and make sure the hurdles are set straight. That never happened, so the hurdles were not lined correctly, which when he nipped his hurdle, it made the hurdle in the lane next to him fall over, which is not against the rules. They hit hurdles all the time.
“Impeding another runner — that never happened. Impeding has to be intentional, you have to be in somebody else’s lane, you have to be purposely kicking over hurdles. You have to be hooking a hurdle, which is all intentional actions to impede another runner. If it’s simply knocking a hurdle down that knocks another hurdle down, that happened all day — you would have to disqualify everyone.”
Bryan Garlic from Penns Grove was moved to first after Dickerson-Dempsey’s disqualification. He clocked in at 14.90 seconds, nearly 0.58 seconds behind Dickerson-Dempsey’s time. Luke Johnson, the New Milford runner, was moved to second, with a time of 15.26 seconds. Dickerson-Dempsey had also placed first in the prelims at 14.59 seconds.
Despite Dickerson-Dempsey’s parents filing an appeal to overturn the ruling, it was denied on Monday. The NJSIAA stated “that the officials acted appropriately and in accordance with the rules.”
But his parents plan to bring the issue to the NJSIAA Controversies Committee, which resolves disputes, alleged bylaw breaches, and sportsmanship violations in high school athletics.
Dickerson-Dempsey, a two-time sectional champion and indoor state champion, also competes in the 55-meter hurdles, 60-meter hurdles, and 400-meter hurdles, with the 110 event being his specialty. He aspires to run track in college. He’s been in communication with college scouts, who had planned to watch him compete in this year’s Meet of Champions.
He feels robbed of a state championship, but his parents say he’s trying to push through.
“We’re trying to encourage him, but he’s really distraught and upset,” Bell said. “He had to leave school early today. The more people ask him about it, the more it triggers him emotionally. ... It’s hard to watch your son go through those emotions, and you can’t explain to him why someone would do that to you.
“He puts his heart and soul into running track. ... How do you explain to a kid who did everything the right way that he received a consequence that was unfair because of somebody’s subjective judgment?”
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