Track officials commit to sport to help athletes, meet people

HARPERSFIELD TOWNSHIP — Officiating track and field and cross country events can be a time-consuming experience, but many area officials are more than happy to make the sacrifice.

While some enjoy staying close to home, others use the gig to travel all over the country, and some have special family time through the sport.

Randy Ankrom, a long-time track coach at Geneva, has been officiating for more than 20 years. He said he loves seeing the athletes improve year to year.

“I like to stay within an hour and a half. There is plenty of work [around here],” Ankrom said.

John Matune, a Geneva area resident, is on the other end of that spectrum. He came to officiating through the experience of being a high school coach.

Matune coached at Twinsburg High School for many years.

As the program grew, he became involved in officiating as a practical matter.

Matune said there were about 150 students involved in the program.

“I started clerking the events so I could make it more efficient,” he said.

After retiring from coaching and teaching, opportunities opened up.

“Being retired, I have the ability to travel,” Matune said. “I get to combine my love of cross country and track and the ability to travel.”

Hayward Field, at the University of Oregon, has long been a center point of the track and field community, and is a special place to work a meet, Matune said.

The venue hosts major events such as the Olympic Trials and NCAA championships.

“Eugene is the Mecca,” Matune said. “It is an honor to work a meet there.”

Recently he worked meets in Key West, Florida and Reno, Nevada.

Matune is gearing up for a four-week stretch with meets throughout Florida and in California.

“I enjoy working with people,” Matune said. “Officiating gives met that opportunity. So I do meets with athletes as young as five up to adults over 100, and have worked with beginners to Olympians.”

He has worked in more than 20 states and many cities all over the country.

The meet in Reno featured only pole vaulters, with hundreds of athletes participating in different competition categories and age classifications.

SPIRE Academy is scheduled to host the U.S. Track and Field Masters Championships this summer.

Matune said he’s looking forward to the event.

“Anytime we can get something [like] this into the area is huge,” he said.

Matune said he is scheduled to work a Masters event in South Korea later this year.

Bobby Hayes, a 2012 graduate of Geneva High School, was initiated into the sports 12 years ago, and enjoys officiating track meets locally and out of town.

He said Geneva High School girls track coaches Bobby McQuoid and Dave Yost were instrumental in getting him started.

Hayes said he really enjoys the interaction with the athletes.

“I’m going to be traveling a lot this year,” he said of work at Penn State University and the Big 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis.

Hayes said he enjoys being greeted at meets all over Ashtabula County. He especially enjoys working the long jump, clerking, which is the process by which the athletes are placed in heats to run, and starting events.

Kurtis Fisher said officials are very important to the sport.

The Grand Valley head girls track coach said it is helpful when officials reinforce what coaches have already said.

Officials help get the athletes to where they are supposed to be, Fisher said.

Madison boys track coach Jeremy Verdi has a perspective from both sides of the equation. He’s been an official in the past, and a coach for more than 20 years.

Verdi serves the function of finish-line coordinator at many meets at SPIRE.

“Good officials can make or break your meet,” he said.

He said the officials’ focus on assisting athletes is important.

“We should all be helping the athletes get things right, not look for things wrong,” Verdi said.

Verdi said treating athletes well and helping them understand the rules can have long-term positive impacts, and they may become officials or coaches.

Jimmy Henson, long-time football and track coach at Jefferson, said he started coaching when his sons, J.J. and Nate, were on the high school track team.

“I decided I didn’t want to miss their meets, but still wanted to be involved,” he said.

“I continue to officiate because it is a way to stay involved in the sport. I also enjoy the relationships created with other officials and the athletes. I have met some amazing people that I would not had a chance to meet without track.”

Henson said he keeps busy with three to four meets per week during the indoor season and another four to six that take place weekly during the outdoor campaign.

He said his wife, Becky, and son, Nate, are both officials as well.

“I really enjoy that my whole family shares time together in a sport I am passionate about,” Henson said.

There is a need for track officials. Anyone interested can find more information on the Ohio High School Athletic Association website.