Question: Northeast D3 Regional

jnjcoach

Active member
Does anyone know where the D3 Regional is going to be this year? The Northeast Board has it as TBA, does that mean it has changed from Perry? Thank you guys for any help
 
 
Does anyone know where the D3 Regional is going to be this year? The Northeast Board has it as TBA, does that mean it has changed from Perry? Thank you guys for any help
Still at Perry AFAIK, but the throwing areas have moved back to where they were before Perry began hosting this regional. Perry is eventually going to build new schools to replace their middle school and junior high buildings (still in the planning stages), so the throwing areas that existed for 5 years had to move.

Ironically, the previous host of this regional, Fairless, is currently building a new HS via pipeline revenue.
 
Last edited:
All the regional sites will be the same as they were in 2021 with the exceptions of two. Region 2 moved from Amherst to Findlay and will rotate each year, between the two sites, due to equal distribution of schools feeding into the regional. Region 7 moved from Chillicothe SE to Chillicothe HS.
 
Still at Perry AFAIK, but the throwing areas have moved back to where they were before Perry began hosting this regional. Perry is eventually going to build new schools to replace their middle school and junior high buildings (still in the planning stages), so the throwing areas that existed for 5 years had to move.

Ironically, the previous host of this regional, Fairless, is currently building a new HS via pipeline revenue.
We’ve been to Perry two years now. I hope they change it next year. It’s to small and not enjoyable.
 
I will agree, Massillon Perry can make some improvements, but it probably is the best regional site for the athletes that has held this region in the past 30 years. Moving the throwing area closer to the track did make things more crowded, but was fantastic for those kids and most coaches. Using the football area was also great for the kids for warmup and team entrance. Also, the facility layout is good (PV/LJ can go two ways, parking is adequate, award podium, PA system is good, etc.). However, there are two problems that stand out which need to be looked at and fixed by next year IMO. First, like others have mentioned, is the lack of seating for many. Portable stands could be placed at the west end of the bleechers - in front of the LJ pit - and another set at the end of the straightaway-at the HJ end. Also, 4-5 sets of bleachers on the backstretch, outside the fence. Either Perry, or the OHSAA (both) needs to address this. If the get the bleachers that have 4-5 rows (Our school have some for baseball/softball) that sit 50-100 people…. They are not difficult to move. That would provide seats for about 500 more people. They would be used.
Also, the track surface is pretty bad in spots. I see where they have “patched” it in some places, but the high wear areas are down to asphalt in some areas. It probably needs a total resurface and painted with the new relay arrows.
 
I will agree, Massillon Perry can make some improvements, but it probably is the best regional site for the athletes that has held this region in the past 30 years. Moving the throwing area closer to the track did make things more crowded, but was fantastic for those kids and most coaches. Using the football area was also great for the kids for warmup and team entrance. Also, the facility layout is good (PV/LJ can go two ways, parking is adequate, award podium, PA system is good, etc.). However, there are two problems that stand out which need to be looked at and fixed by next year IMO. First, like others have mentioned, is the lack of seating for many. Portable stands could be placed at the west end of the bleechers - in front of the LJ pit - and another set at the end of the straightaway-at the HJ end. Also, 4-5 sets of bleachers on the backstretch, outside the fence. Either Perry, or the OHSAA (both) needs to address this. If the get the bleachers that have 4-5 rows (Our school have some for baseball/softball) that sit 50-100 people…. They are not difficult to move. That would provide seats for about 500 more people. They would be used.
Also, the track surface is pretty bad in spots. I see where they have “patched” it in some places, but the high wear areas are down to asphalt in some areas. It probably needs a total resurface and painted with the new relay arrows.
The current surface at Perry was just a top coat, and it's easy to see the lines from the previous surface. This is either year 4 or 5 for that surface. I was told that they were hoping to get 7 years out of it, but I don't think they're going to make it that long. They simply host too many meets, and there's evidence of that at the 100 and 110 start lines. If and when the current surface is replaced, it will be a complete redo. However, I have not heard that a new surface is happening this summer. If it is being redone this summer, it would've been scheduled months ago, and we would've heard about it.

Additional seating is needed, and I told them about that when they were first awarded this meet. This meet draws rather well. The McDonald fans fill a large portion of the facility all by themselves. They're a dedicated bunch.

Will the meet remain at Perry? I don't know. The fact that they did not charge for parking on Wed. or Fri. tells me something (despite the meet info saying they would be charging $5 to park). Either they were woefully short on help, or they don't care anymore. I've heard rumblings that they might not wish to continue hosting it.

Where would the meet go if not at Perry? I don't know that either. My sense from the OATCCC is that they would prefer to see the meet remain in the Canton area in order to best accommodate schools coming both from south along the Ohio River and from north along Lake Erie. Somewhere near I-77 was definitely a priority. There are plenty of facilities in the vicinity that check as many if not more of the boxes that Perry did, but most of those venues have the similar problem of belonging to DI schools who are away competing at regionals on those days, so who is left to work the meet that knows what they're doing? Many of the smaller schools with easy access to I-77 do not check many of the important boxes. Fairless' facility had some major drawbacks, but the main reason the meet left there was because Fairless no longer wanted to host it.

One coach from the East District mentioned Indian Valley, but that might be too far south to be considered. It is a beautiful new facility, but it would not have enough parking.
 
Top