A high school track meet in Virginia turned chaotic when Brookville High junior Kaelen Tucker was struck in the head with a baton during a 4×400 meter relay final. Despite clear video footage, the runner responsible tearfully denied any intentional wrongdoing.
Kaelen was running the second leg during the race when she passed an IC Norcom High School opponent. In a shocking moment captured on video, the IC Norcom runner swung her baton and struck Kaelen in the head at least twice, causing her to lose balance and stumble off the track. A slow-motion replay confirms when the other runner pulled back her arm and touched Kaelen’s head.
A high school track runner was attacked with a baton during a relay at the state championships 😳 pic.twitter.com/qd4wll7H1I
— internet hall of fame (@InternetH0F) March 10, 2025
Race officials swiftly disqualified IC Norcom High School for “contact interference.”
Spectators at the event were stunned. “The whole section just gasped,” Kaelen’s mother, Tamarrow, told ABC13. “We had family come from out of town, her godparents were here from Myrtle Beach. Everybody just gasped. When I saw her go down, all I could do is run out of the bleachers. I just knew I had to get to her.”
Kaelen has since been diagnosed with a concussion and a possible skull fracture. She has been experiencing headaches and dizziness since the incident. While the video has gone viral, the other runner insists that the strike was unintentional.
She tried to say she didn’t do it intentionally 💀 pic.twitter.com/P6dFUcr9a7
— ✩𝖈𝖚𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖎✩ (@cuhromi) March 10, 2025
As of Friday, neither the runner nor her coaches had contacted Kaelen or her family. “My whole thing was no apology,” Tamarrow said. “No coaches, no athlete, no anything. Even if it was an accident, which I don’t believe is an accident. It’s been more than 24 hours now, so I guess that was the major thing. My child was hurt and nobody came to check on her.”
Kaelen is still struggling to process what happened. “I still can’t believe it, I’m in shock,” she told ABC13 News. “I’m still trying to take it all in, I can’t believe it happened.”
Despite the severity of the incident, no assault charges have been filed against the other runner at this time.