News coverage of the MITS State Finals

This is the link.

On a personal note, I have to add that I absolutely love this meet. Back when I was racing in high school, the series went by the MITCA name, as it was always organized by coaches and supported by the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association. Any extra funds raised by the series always have supported the Michigan team at the Midwest Meet of Champions.

With the withdrawal of MITCA from the picture and the tightening of off-season rules by the MHSAA, the task of putting on the meets has only gotten more difficult. Extra funds still support Team Michigan, but the brunt of putting on the championship meet falls more heavily than ever on director Mike Jurasek and his daughter, Lesley Starkey.

That being said, coaches with any history under their belts can see how huge the series has grown in recent years. Michigan is pretty unusual in that our state association does not support indoor track, but we still have such a large, high-quality state meet. It's all about people--coaches, officials, etc--volunteering their time and giving opportunity to our athletes.

So here's a message to our athletes. Talk to your friends who compete in AAU basketball or volleyball, or club hockey or travel soccer. Ask them what they pay. Brace yourself. And then, next chance you get, thank someone who's volunteering at a track meet. We have the best of all worlds in our sport.