A Fond du Lac sprinter is back on track!
The WIAA is backpedaling on a controversial ruling that the sprinter from Campbellsport was ineligible.
Josh Onwunili will be allowed to compete in his regional track and field meet on Monday evening. It's a huge, long-awaited opportunity to catch the eye of potential college programs and even put a new record in the books.
The reversal came after three Wisconsin lawmakers sent a letter to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association urging the board to let Josh run.
Josh went to Campbellsport High School as a freshman, but spent two years in Ghana, Africa with his parents who were working there as missionaries. This year, Josh returned to Wisconsin without his parents to prepare for college — and that's why the WIAA ruled him ineligible.
Support from coaches, the community and hard-to-reach documentation ultimately pushed Josh over the finish line. The WIAA confirmed Friday afternoon that it had received Josh's father's Visa, which was the missing piece of the puzzle.
Josh and his coach say they're grateful everything worked out — and just in time.
"It's been a rollercoaster. I graduated this week too," Josh says. "It's been up anddown and yeah its been crazy but yeah ending pretty well."
"I'm just a coach ya know, like I just wanna see the kid run," added coach Derek Toshner. "I think any good coach would have done it right. Yeah I just care about my athletes. I care about my students. I wanna see him run."
Toshner says Josh recorded one of the fastest 100-meter sprints in state history, and we'll see if any new records are broken Monday night.
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