Rio Grande's Grace Forrest finished ninth in the 5,000-meter race walk on Thursday at the 43rd Annual NAIA Women's Track and Field Championships in Marion, Ind. The Woodstock, Ohio sophomore was disqualified shortly after the race following a controversial official's decision.

Posted: May 23, 2024

Rio's Forrest falls victim to controversial finish at NAIA meet

Rio Grande Sports Information
MARION, Ind. - University of Rio Grande sophomore Grace Forrest appeared to narrowly miss an All-American finish in Thursday afternoon's 5,000-meter race walk at the 43rd Annual NAIA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University.
A controversial referee's decision, though, produced a completely different scenario instead.
Forrest, a native of Woodstock, Ohio and Rio's only national qualifier, crossed the finish line in ninth place - the top eight finishers earn All-American status - while also becoming the first RedStorm runner to finish the event in under 27 minutes.
However, she was disqualified by race officials just minutes after the event's conclusion.
"A couple of officials said that one of our 'women athletes' threw water on her toward the end of the race from the infield," said Rio Grande head coach Matt Paxton. "First of all, she's the only female athlete we have here. Secondly, none of our people were anywhere near the infield. Unfortunately, it's not appealable. The two officials stood by their story."
Paxton explained that water is considered "illegal aid" to the walker. He attempted to protest the decision, but to no avail.
Video review also proved fruitless.
"The video literally cuts away to follow the leader when (the violation) was supposed to have happened," Paxton said.