I think that any way a coach decides to keep marks and records is fine as long as they stay as consistent as possible. The next coach may go another direction which is his or her perogative. There always seem to be different twists. There are many who do not see these lists as important and let them drop so another reason for the outsiders so-to-speak to be coveted. New coaches will be inclined keep what is already in place due to the difficulty of tracking down older and better records and top 10 lists. For this reason the sewards of the programs who compile these things are invaluable and their method should accepted even if different from other programs.
Claymont having 10 over 50 is impressive for a school of that size as are others listed so far. For the deep lists like Claymont in the shot put, do you think it is emphasis, coaching, clientele, a combination, or many different reasons for various schools.
Keep tossing out those very deep quality marks and non-records that are exceptional. I am also fascinated with high ranking marks from many years ago. Any really old marks that have survived time?
The oldest school records on the books at my school:
Girls: We have a pair from 1981 by the same person - an 18' 0" long jump and a 56.45 400m dash. I don't know that the long jump will ever be broken. We have had another girl break 57 in the 400, so it's possible that the right girl will come along one day to break that record.
Boys: Pole Vault - 14' 0" from 1969. record was tied in 2003 but hasn't been broken. I don't remember what my school's 4x200m record was set as when the event was re-implemented to counter the implementation of girls PV, but whatever it was, I uncovered a pair of 4x220yd. relays that converted to faster times. The faster of the 2 was from 1975 and the other from 1965. Thankfully, that 1975 time was shattered a few years ago to end any type of controversy or dilemma.
The quality isn't the highest, but boys HJ might be my school's deepest school record. 2 boys are tied for the top spot at 6' 7", but 5 more are tied at 6' 6" with at least 1 more at 6' 5".
The oldest stadium records on the books at my school:
Girls: A 5' 6.5" high jump from 1993. All other girls stadium records were achieved in 2005 or more recently.
Boys: A two mile time from 1976 that converts to a 9:34.3h 3200m. The next oldest stadium record is from 1988. We've also had 2 high jumpers clear 7' 0" in our stadium. I imagine that's pretty rare.
My beloved Stark County's oldest records:
Girls: A 19' 3.75" long jump from 2000.
Boys: Canton McKinley's 3:17.5h in the 4x400m from 1971 and the great Alliance sprinter Anthony Blair's 200m and 400m times of 20.8h and 46.5h from 1976. All other county records are from 2000 or later. Incidentally, that record from 2000 was in the shot put. It broke a record that was set in 1967. Thus, the county record in boys shot put has only been broken by 1 person in the last 52+ years!
How about this one? Massillon's mile/1600m record. A young man from Massillon HS ran a 4:38.4 mile in 1916. His time stood as the school record until 1965 when it was lowered to 4:33.9. The 1965 time still stands as the school record. Massillon's boys mile/1600m record has only been lowered once in the past 103+ years!