‘It’s not just for me’: This Maine high schooler is fighting to race at cross country regionals in his wheelchair
The decision could be announced as early as Friday afternoon.
If Jonathan Schomaker isn’t allowed to race at cross country regionals this year, he’s still going to go to the event. Instead of competing with his team, he’ll be on the sidelines, hoping the officials who excluded him get a look at his all-terrain wheelchair.
Jonathan is a 15-year-old sophomore at Maine’s Leavitt Area High School in Turner who has loved cross-country since middle school. His father, Jon, said he came home from one of his first days of seventh grade, flyer in hand, and said he was going to have a go at the sport.
“I figured we’d let him give it a try,” Jon said.
Cross country is difficult enough. But it’s made even tougher for Jonathan, whose pontocerebellar hypoplasia leaves him wheelchair-bound. Basically, there’s a hole where Jonathan’s cerebellum should be. When he was around 6 months old, doctors told his parents he would never walk, talk, or even get out of bed.
Through years of various therapies, Jonathan learned to speak and even walk a little bit. But despite his progress, he’s still sometimes barred from certain activities — such as competing in cross country regionals.
Jonathan with his team.
According to the Maine Principals’ Association, Jonathan’s wheelchair is the issue. The MPA is the organization that had the final say last year in Jonathan being kept from competing at regionals, even though he races with his team at every other meet. The group’s stance is that Jonathan’s chair could be a safety hazard to other runners. Jonathan says he’s never caused a problem, and Jon or a volunteer always runs with him just in case.
This year, the MPA is considering allowing Jonathan in the race. MPA officials said Friday morning that the organization expects to have a decision ready before the weekend.
If Jonathan is allowed to race at regionals, he would be setting precedent for other disabled athletes who might not even see cross country as a possibility, he says.
“The way I see it, it’s not just for me. It’s just not for my team,” he said. “It’s for everybody. If people with different disabilities want to do cross country, then great.”
Sometimes racing is excruciatingly slow for Jonathan. Hills are difficult. But Jon said there are few obstacles that his son can’t handle from his all-terrain chair, which can take on mud and even beaches. (“That thing is his first love,” Jon said of the chair.)
Jonathan with John Rackley, the inventor of the Renegade, the all-terrain wheelchair he uses.
Jon said no one at the MPA has actually watched Jonathan race, so they might not understand that his chair is equipped to handle the courses.
“They’re thinking in their minds, ‘OK, well he’s a kid in a wheelchair. A wheelchair can’t go in the dirt.’ But that’s not true,” he said.
In short: Jonathan can race just about anywhere an able-bodied runner can, Jon said.
In its process of deciding whether he can race at regionals, which are on Oct. 26, the MPA is considering creating a different course for Jonathan to race — alone.
“Think about that,” Jon said. “You’ve already discriminated against my son, now you’re going to add segregation?”
Jon said that solution is unacceptable. He sees it as a way for the MPA to pat itself on the back for inclusivity without actually making any changes.
This isn’t the first time Jonathan has been discriminated against, either, Jon said. At his elementary school, the playground wasn’t up to ADA standards, so the teachers would just park Jonathan on the edge of the playground or next to the sandbox to watch other kids have fun.
When Jonathan started taking the bus, one school bus would come down his street to pick up every student except for him, Jon said, and then a separate one would come to get Jonathan — even through the first bus was equipped to handle a wheelchair.
“We have to push to get anything done,” Jon said. “We have to push for everything.”
On Thursday, Jonathan was anxiously awaiting the MPA’s decision on his cross country fate.
“I’m kind of stressed about it, because I mean like — ah! I want to have the decision right now,” he said.
If the MPA bars Jonathan from the race again or makes him race on a separate course without the other runners, Jon said the Schomakers are prepared to take legal action. They’re already in contact with Disability Rights Maine.
“It’s time to make this happen one way or another,” he said.
