Wachusett’s last gasp at an MIAA State Tournament berth fell on deaf ears.
On Friday afternoon, the Worcester County Superior Court upheld the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s decision to enforce six forfeits on Wachusett’s boys hockey team after the Mountaineers played with an ineligible player during the first part of the season.
Wachusett filed for a preliminary injunction early Friday morning in hopes that a judge would rule in its favor and overturn the forfeitures, thus entering the Mountaineers into the Division 1 state tournament ahead of Saturday’s bracket reveal. Worcester Superior Court judge the honorable Janet Kenton-Walker wrote, “after a thorough review of review of the respective pleadings, affidavits, supporting documents, the relevant caselaw, and following a hearing, Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED.”
In October, Wachusett received a transfer from Worcester Academy. Since Worcester Academy is a non-MIAA school, Wachusett’s administration was required to receive a student eligibility waiver under MIAA Handbook rule 87.1. The Mountaineers’ administration, however, admittedly never filed the proper paperwork in time instead filing a Form 200 which grants eligibility between MIAA schools and as a result the Mountaineers began the season with an ineligible player.
As a result, Wachusett was required to forfeit all six games that the student-athlete played in at the start of the season. The Boston Herald learned that this past week, the Mountaineers who finished 7-12 on the regular season, made one last gasp to get into the state tournament. First they appealed to an MIAA subcommittee on Tuesday for tournament entry based on an MIAA Handbook rule that allows for tournament eligibility in the event of use of an ineligible player albeit as the last seed.
The Mountaineers argued since the error was simply clerical with no malintent they should be afforded the opportunity to retain those defeats and end up in the state tournament. The MIAA subcommittee, however, composed of members of the Board of Directors unanimously voted down the appeal. Following the denial Wachusett turned to litigation where they filed an injunction on Wednesday that seeked to showcase irrepreable harm to both its team’s state tournament fortunes and to the ineligible player himself.
The MIAA’s argument which proved to be victorious noted, “Wachusett asserts it is likely to suffer irreparable harm if an injunction does not enter because MIAA Power Rankings will be released on February 25, 2023, and Wachusett will not qualify for the MIAA state tournament. That cannot be irreparable harm because it was caused by Wachusett’s own doing.”