Orono track: bad news, good news> Girls team penalized for runner’s ear jewelry

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It may be minuscule in size. But it loomed very large on Saturday at the state high school Class C track meet in Augusta.

A plastic, translucent ear post used to prevent a pierced earhole from closing up or becoming infected cost Orono High School senior Amy Taylor a second-place finish in the 400-meter run and her team a second place in the meet.

Taylor was disqualified after running the 400 meters by race director Al Nicholson for wearing the ear post. She clocked a school record 1:01.6.

Had Taylor’s finish stood, the Riots would have scored eight additional points and had a total of 57 for the meet, two more than second-place Traip Academy of Kittery. Boothbay Region was third with 54. Due to the DQ, Orono wound up with 49 points and finished fourth.

Taylor’s disqualification, coupled with a member of Orono’s 4-by-400 relay team being told by officials she had to change her shirt because a one-inch logo on the strap was different than her three teammates’, caused Orono volunteer assistant coach Steve Dexter to yell at Nicholson in frustration. Nicholson ejected Dexter from the meet.

Orono High School has sent a letter of protest to the Maine Principals’ Association over the incidents.

Nicholson said it was the first time in his 40-plus years of service that he had ejected anybody.

Taylor’s ear post problem began just before her heat in the 100-meter dash. Clerks Jim and Diane Poulin informed Taylor that she would have to remove it before she ran.

Meet director Bob Nixon said under rules established by the Maine Principals Association and in accordance with national federation rules, track athletes cannot wear any type of jewelry or “adornment” while competing.

“That doesn’t just pertain to metal jewelry, either,” said Nixon.

“I addressed the whole group of athletes and told them there would be no jewelry allowed,” said Diane Poulin. “Then I told her (individually) that she would have to remove her ear post. Three or four minutes later, she still had it in and she was again told she would have to remove it. She said it was plastic and wasn’t jewelry. She finally took it out, reluctantly.”

Taylor said she thought the ear post did not qualify as jewelry.

“I had my ear pierced recently and they told me when I bought it that the ear post can be worn when you aren’t allowed to wear regular jewelry, like if you have a job that doesn’t allow jewelry,” said Taylor. “When she (Mrs. Poulin) told me I couldn’t wear jewelry, I told her it wasn’t jewelry and was all right to wear. I questioned her authority. Maybe I shouldn’t have.”

Following the 100-meter semis, Taylor put the ear post back in her ear and wore it for the finals of the 100-meter dash, the long jump, the 4-by-100 relay and the 400 meters.

“I didn’t want the hole to close up again. After I put it back in, I forgot about it,” explained Taylor, who also pointed out that she had never been told an ear post was illegal in other meets.

Just before the 400 meters, which was the last of her events, Poulin noticed that Taylor still had the ear post in.

“Mr. Nicholson walked over to her with me and pointed toward his ear. She turned and walked off. I asked him what I should do. He said nothing. He told me I had already warned her three times and asked me to tell him which one she was after the race,” said Mrs. Poulin.

Taylor said she had “no recollection” of Nicholson’s gesture.

Nicholson disqualified her right after the race.

Orono assistant track coach Cliff McCormick said his runner should have been told to remove the post before the race by Nicholson or Poulin.

“Article three in the rulebook says in order to disqualify somebody for unsportsmanlike conduct, they must exhibit a willful failure to follow the directions of the meet officials,” said McCormick. “I’ve known Amy and her family for quite some time and she would never do anything intentionally to break the rules.”

McCormick went to Nicholson with an official appeal “but he told me I’d be wasting my 35 dollars (for the appeal) because he’d just deny it. So it wasn’t worth it.”

“I have to deny it so that the jury of appeals will hear his appeal. They can overrule me,” said Nicholson, pointing out protest procedure.

“Al told me there was no jury of appeals that particular day,” McCormick said.

Nicholson disputes McCormick’s statement, saying the members of the jury were listed in the program.

Meanwhile, Dexter became irriated after the Taylor and logo incidents.

He said it was unfair to his runner, sophomore Sarah Opitz, to be forced to change her running top just before the race.

He told Nicholson “you are harassing the athletes,” and he was ejected.