EAST ST. LOUIS – Tuesday's Southwestern Conference Boys Track and Field Championship was suspended after a brawl erupted in the stands near the start-finish line at Clyde Jordan Stadium.
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The Games Committee for the event decided to suspend the competition after the incident, which took place following the conclusion of the junior varsity 4x800 relay while runners were preparing for the varsity 4x800 relay and for the final of the discus throw; only three events had been completed on the day, the JV 3200 and shot put and the varsity shot put before the brawl broke out.
“For the safety of the participants and the fans, we decided to cancel the meet and we'll speak with the conference (athletic directors) later on this evening and figure out if we're going to reschedule this meet for Friday or just cancel it,” said East St. Louis AD Darren Sunkett after the decision to suspend the meet was made. “If we go again Friday, we'll likely pick it up where we left off.”
The decision to suspend the meet was “very disappointing,” Sunkett said. “You would hope we all can gather together in a stadium and watch a bunch of great athletes perform, and we weren't able to do that today; it's disappointing that this happened. Some things are out of our control.”
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