A Virgina high school track and field star was left with head injuries after she was hit over the back of the head by her opponent last Tuesday.
According to Fox News, Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker, who had set a new Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 State Indoor Championship record Monday in the 55-meter race, said she was still waiting to get an apology from her opponent from I.C. Norcom High School opponent who hit her in the head with a metal baton during a relay race that Tucker was hoping to win.
During the 4x200M relay, video shows that the Norcom student threw the baton at Tucker after she overtook her position. Tucker can then be seen holding her head and falling down off the track.
“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 told WSET ABC 13 in an interview. “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,” Tucker said.
Tucker’s mother, Tamarrow, said that she and others who were watching the race from the bleachers were left in disbelief.
“The whole section just gasped,” Tamarrow said. “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.”
WSET ABC 13 reported that the Norcom student was immediately disqualified from her team by judges for “contact interference.”
Tamarrow noted that the lack of accountability on the incident has left her, and their family baffled after they still hadn’t received any contact from her daughter’s assailant or from her coaches.
“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.”
When asked whether she would be pressing criminal charges against the assailant, Tamarrow said that she is keeping in mind that she is “somebody else’s child.”
“Of course, everybody gives their opinion on what they think you should do, but that’s also somebody else’s child,” Tamarrow said. “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.”
After a doctor’s visit on Friday, Tucker reportedly had signs of concussion and was suffering from headaches – the force of the baton also left the area where she was struck swollen, and there is a possibility that Tucker has a skull fracture.
VHSL told the Tucker’s that they had launched an investigation into the matter with the full cooperation of both high schools, however, there has been no announcement on what kind of discipline the assailant will face, if any.
The VHSL issued a statement to Fox News Digital and said they were reviewing the incident and that the decision to disqualify the Norcom student was “appropriate and correct.”
“The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA,” VHSL said. “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.”
