A Virginia high school track and field star’s attempt to get into first place during a race last Tuesday led an opponent to hit her with a baton, causing head injuries.
According to Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker, she’s still waiting on the opponent from I.C. Norcom High School to apologize.
Tucker had just set a new Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 State Indoor Championships record in the 55-meter race on Monday, and she was hoping to help her school win the 4x200M relay final on Tuesday as well.
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(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
However, the heat of competition got carried too far by one opponent, as clear video evidence of the race shows Tucker getting struck in the head by a baton-wielding runner from Norcom, who also threw it in Tucker’s direction after being passed.
Tucker immediately ran off the track and fell down, holding her head.
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“So, on the back curve, I kind of got cut off, and I tried to pass her the first time, so I let her go ahead,” Tucker said to WSET ABC 13 in an interview posted on Friday. “I knew when I got fully on the curve that I was just going to have to push through past her. So, as we were coming up in the middle of the curve, we were bumping arms a lot. So, I got a little more on the outside of the curve to go around her.”
“When I finally pushed through to get in front of her, that’s when she hit me in the head with the baton.”
Bumping during races is very normal on the track, but not how Tucker’s opponent reacted at that moment during the second leg of the race.
“The whole section just gasped,” Tucker’s mother, Tamarrow, said about those around her in the bleachers. “We had family come from out of town, her godparents were here from Myrtle Beach. Everybody just gasped. When I saw her go down, all I could do is run out of the bleachers. I just knew I had to get to her.”
“She was kind of hysterical because she just couldn’t believe that’s what had happened.”
Race judges immediately disqualified the Norcom team for “contact interference,” according to WSET ABC 13.
Tamarrow said a medic was already with her daughter when she got down on the track, though what baffled the entire family was the lack of accountability for what occurred.
As of Friday, they still haven’t heard from the runner or her coaches, she said.
(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
“My whole thing was no apology,” Tamarrow said. “No coaches, no athlete, no anything. Even if it was an accident, which I don’t believe it’s an accident, but nothing. It’s been more than 24 hours now, so I guess that was the major thing. My child was hurt and nobody came to check on her.”
WSET ABC 13 asked the Tuckers if criminal charges would be pressed, and without giving a definitive yes-or-no answer, Tamarrow explained their point of view.
“Of course, everybody gives their opinion on what they think you should do, but that’s also somebody else’s child,” she said, referencing the assailant. “I want to take that into account as well. Yes, she definitely struck my daughter more than once, but she is somebody else’s child as well.”
The family said a doctor’s visit on Friday revealed concussion symptoms as Kaelen continues to deal with headaches. There was also swelling around the area where she was struck and a possible skull fracture.
Kaelen isn’t allowed on the track until she recovers from her injuries, her mother said.
(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
The Tucker family reached out to the VHSL and said they received a call-back explaining that an investigation was underway and both high schools were cooperating. No discipline has been announced for the incident, according to the Tuckers.
The VHSL issued a statement to Fox News Digital on the matter.
“The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA,” the league’s statement read. “The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct. We thoroughly review every instance like this that involves player safety with the participating schools. The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition.”
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Kaelen was asked at the end of the interview from their home what she wished to say to the opponent who struck her, if anything.
“Why did you do it? And why haven’t you apologized yet?” she said.
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