A malfunction during the NCAA Division II 5,000-meter championship over the weekend caused a runner to finish last.
Davonte Jett-Reynolds, a senior at Adams State in Alamosa, Colo., thought he was in the final stretch of the 12.5-lap race after hearing the bell for the final lap, so he put it in March. However, he did not know that the bell had rung a turn too early.
«Exhausted» from giving «everything he had» in what he thought was his last lap, a total of 15 riders passed Jett-Reynolds. After what he thought was a third-place finish, he ended up crossing the finish line 18th of 18.
According to USA Today, the blunder began when a lap counter, counting down, went from nine laps remaining to seven.
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Fans sit trackside during the Division II Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at the Neta & Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl on May 27, 2023 in Pueblo, Colorado. (Photos by Grace Bradley/NCAA via Getty Images)
«When it should have gone eight, and it’s a digital indicator at the finish line, they skipped eight and went to seven (laps). The lap counter image went from nine to seven,» said the head athletics coach of Adams State. Damon Martin said USA TODAY Sports. «They skipped eight.»
The officer rang the bell anyway, even though the counter was wrong.
Jett-Reynolds is completely blind in his left eye and 20% damaged in his right. Therefore, he relies on the bells to know how much time he has left: the track counter is located inside the track to the left of him, so he can’t see it.
Jett-Reynolds says he heard officers say there was one lap to go but didn’t realize they were talking to him.
“Officials say: ‘You have a lap.’ But they’re on my left side and I’m blind and they’re yelling at me. I thought they were talking to the other kid that she licked,” Jett-Reynolds said. «In my mind, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, keep running because you definitely didn’t beat me.'»
Jett-Reynolds ran the final actual lap in 2 minutes and 53 seconds, more than 90 seconds slower than each of his previous lap stages.
An NCAA logo is displayed on the goal post prior to the Division III National Championship basketball game between the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets and the Elmhurst Bluejays on March 19, 2022, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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His total time was 15:55.20; had he run the last lap at his pace for the first 11.5 laps, he would have finished in 14 minutes and 10 seconds, which would have allowed him to win the race.
One Adams State athlete emerged victorious: Awet Beraki took first place with his time of 14:13.69 – however, the fate of Jett-Reynolds influenced the team’s overall ranking.
Had Jett-Reynolds finished third as it had, Adams State would have gained six more points in the team standings and passed West Texas A&M in the standings: West Texas A&M finished second with 47 points, while Adams State finished in third place. with 44. Pittsburg State won the men’s title with 62 total points.
The NCAA admitted that the error occurred, and Adams State protested, but the NCAA ruled that the results stand.
Awet Beraki, pictured here, a teammate of Davonte Jett-Reynolds, won the race. (Photos by Grace Bradley/NCAA via Getty Images)
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«Although the unfortunate error in the lap count caused confusion, the referees determined that since the full 5,000 meters were completed by all participants remaining in the race at the time the bell rang and the distance race could not run again, the results would be completed,» the NCAA said.
Jett-Reynolds’ best race time in the 5,000 meters is 13:59.44. USA Today says that she is filling out paperwork to participate in the Paralympics.