O’FALLON, Ill. – O’Fallon Township High School freshman Cole Deering loves running. He was devastated when his cross-country coach told him he was currently ineligible to compete because of a charity run Deering recently participated in.

“I don’t really think there’s any reason that running a charity 5K should get me disqualified for running cross-country meets,” Deering said.

He ran in a race benefiting a medical center where his sister had been hospitalized with pneumonia.

The ineligibility determination stems from Illinois High School Association rules related to competing in non-school events during the school season. Family says they never knew a charity event would jeopardize eligibility.

“Cole was diagnosed as autistic at a very young age and running has become his thing,” Jiggar Hindia, Deering’s stepfather, said.

Hindia believes there should be an exception in this case and hopes the rules will be altered.

“I hope that there is a change that comes about that maybe there could be exemptions to this rule in the future,” Jiggar said.

Deering’s mother started an online petition that quickly generated more than 1,000 signatures.

A spokesperson for the Illinois High School Association shared the following statement:

The member high schools who make up the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) created rules on participation at non-high school events within the high school season to help create equity for all competing student-athletes. The IHSA is charged with enforcing these rules to help maintain that equity, regardless of the circumstances. While we recognize that there was not a deliberate attempt to break this rule, the penalty remains consistent with past precedence for similar violations. We will continue to work with our member school administrators and coaches to improve educational efforts on IHSA rules in hopes that we can prevent situations like this from occurring again in the future.

The superintendent of O’Fallon Township High School shared this statement:

The OTHS administration is aware of a recent eligibility determination issued by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) impacting an OTHS student athlete. The eligibility determination made by IHSA involved the application of IHSA bylaws prohibiting in-season participation in non-school-affiliated competition. OTHS must follow and abide by the ruling of the IHSA as IHSA is the governing body for our athletic programs.