Pleasant Valley, Urbandale react to IGHSAU track ruling

Pleasant Valley's state girls' track championship trophy will be forfeited after spending a little more than two months at the school.

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union's board of directors voted Friday to strip the school of the Class 4-A title after a record-setting runner was declared ineligible because she competed in three out-of-state college meets in December.

The Iowa Code and the Pleasant Valley Student Handbook state that a student can't take part in a high school sport if he or she participated in a contest with or against, or trained with, college athletes' sanctioned teams.

It's believed to be the first time a school lost a state girls' track team crown on such a ruling. The Ames boys' track team lost the 1956 state indoor title because a 20-year-old was on the roster, according to Bud Legg, information director of the boys' Iowa High School Athletic Association.

The board's closed-door meeting lasted 90 minutes.

The Union issued a statement that Pleasant Valley will forfeit all points scored in events that featured the athlete. The total was 38 points: first-place finishes in the distance medley and the 4x400 and 800 meters and a second-place score in the 1,500.

The deduction of 38 points would give the team title to Urbandale. Pleasant Valley scored 82.5 points, winning the meet on the final event, the 4x400. Urbandale had 73.5.

The athlete who competed in the cited events was Kaley Ciluffo, a junior. Ciluffo recently ran the state's all-time best in the 800 (2:07.08).

According to the ruling, Pleasant Valley must return its state trophy and Ciluffo's individual medals. The medley ran the nation's season best at the time of the state meet, which was a state record, too.

The state meet was held May 22-24 at Drake Stadium.

"This is an unfortunate situation for all parties involved," Union executive director Mike Dick said in a press release. "However, the mission of our organization and its board of directors is to be fair and equitable to all of the girls that participate in IGHSAU activities. We are confident we did that today."

All three of the meets were out of state, including two in Illinois.

Pleasant Valley superintendent Jim Spelhaug said school officials learned of an apparent problem in late June. The matter was investigated, and Pleasant Valley school officials turned the findings over to the Union.

Spelhaug said he believed there should be "reasonable standards" for schools and that the district did not and could not know about Ciluffo's participation in the college meets.

"You're not punishing the individual, you're punishing the team," Spelhaug said. "I struggle with that concept."

Spelhaug said the school will look into its options for an appeal.

Urbandale's vault into first place gave the school its first state girls' track championship. The runner-up award was the J-Hawks' top previous finish.

"We were happy with second place," Urbandale girls' track coach Randy Hutchison said. "There's nothing we could have done to run better."

Hutchison said his team has already had its postseason banquet; the J-Hawks will gather again if possible.

Iowa's first state girls' outdoor track meet was held in 1962. Jerry Wetzel of Indianola, one of the few individuals who has attended every state meet, said he has never heard of a track team losing a title.

"I'm not aware of that happening to anybody," Wetzel said. "I've been to every one as a coach and official and I've never heard of that."

The boys' Association ruled a soccer player ineligible for violating the college rule within the past decade, executive director Rick Wulkow said.

Wulkow said it's common for athletes to contact the Association about participation in events that may create a conflict.

"There's a lot of stuff that comes across our desk to be given an opportunity to ask, 'Is this OK?,' " Wulkow said.