MADISON—Representative Jerry O’Connor (R—Fond du Lac) released the following statement regarding Josh Onwunilli’s successful run to become the fastest high school athlete in the entire State of Wisconsin. “We could not be more pleased with Josh’s performance over the past two weeks. What a great great story. After public and legislative pressure forced the WIAA to grant Josh the necessary waiver so he could compete, Josh went on to sweep the 100m and 200m races at the WIAA Regional, Sectional, and State Championships. Josh is the fastest high school runner in the State of Wisconsin. Fourteen days before the State Finals, the WIAA continued to refuse to grant Josh Onwunili a waiver to compete in the State WIAA Track meets. Josh, the son of missionaries who serve in Ghana (West Africa), began requesting a waiver to the WIAA Transfer Rule back in August. The Transfer Rule prohibits athletes from competing in a District where their parents do not reside. This stops schools from stacking and creating all-star teams that “import” athletes from other school districts to gain an advantage over other schools. This was not and has never been the case for Josh, his family or the School District. WIAA gave the appearance of blocking this request at every turn. There was always more documentation required. There is no bureaucratic answer acceptable for these delays. This resulted in Josh being unable to compete in Varsity Football and Basketball, where he also excels. After a week-long full-court press by the media around the state. My fellow lawmakers said, “The decision to exclude Josh from competition based on residency technicalities risks overlooking the fundamental spirit of high school sports.” In the last 24 hours before the deadline, my office directly engaged the WIAA Executive Director to get this waiver granted. We brought Congressman Glenn Grothman, the school administration, and Josh’s family together to make a final push to provide information for the latest round of requests from WIAA. At the deadline, WIAA, with a high level of public pressure, finally granted Josh his waiver request after nine months of trying. All WIAA was ever asked was to “LET JOSH RUN!” And, wow, did he run. Congratulations Josh!”
