By Mark Carpenter-
No one saw this coming. Those of you who can remember, think back to your senior season of high school. It was a memorable time of your life, the final few months of fun before you entered the real world of adulthood as a member of the work force or a college student. The imagine having that all taken away in the blink of an eye, or in this case, the blink of a germ.
That is the situation facing millions of high school students all over the United States today as the COVID-19 virus has turned their worlds upside down. Instead of planning for prom and graduation, high school seniors are told to “stay at home” at a time when socializing with friends would be a dominant part of their lives. If those seniors happen to be athletes who were looking forward to their final season as a part of their respective high school squads, the virus has proved to be a double whammy. In Ohio, the sudden and serious outbreak of the virus, left the end of the winter sports tournaments indefinitely postponed and the upcoming spring sports season pushed back and very much in danger of being cancelled altogether.
When Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that all Ohio K-12 schools would be closed for three weeks, it set the spring sports seasons back and with the very good possibility that the closing might be extended, the spring sports seasons find themselves in jeopardy of cancellation. With that possibility in mind, the Defender reached out to Adams County senior student-athletes for their reactions to the situation with spring sports, perhaps their final opportunity to wear a high school uniform. Following is the responses received:
Zane Kingsolver (West Union High School-Baseball,Track)- “I have a lot of emotions honestly. I’m mostly hurting from the fact that the class of 2020 isn’t getting the proper send-off we deserve. There’s regret for not treasuring every second of it and anger that events out of our control has to ruin what was our last ride. Luckily for me personally, I got to savor my last basketball season which was my true passion but for those who take baseball and track very serious, you have to feel heartbroken for them. I was looking forward to running track for the first time and the fact that I don’t get to do so hurts.”
“I just hope that we are able to experience one last prom, one last game or meet, and get to walk across the stage with our cap and gowns to receive our diplomas with those people we grew up with just like everyone else.”
Brandon Figgins (North Adams- Track)- “When I first heard about it I started tearing up because track has made my friend group grow so much more than I thought and I was ready for this season to see those friends I made from all over the state. Also I was ready to make sacrifices to make my season most memorable for me. I made it to regionals last year and I was planning on making it to state this year. The worst part that I see with the season possibly not happening is that my senior year would be over.”
“Sports have been my life for four years of high school so with this being my last season I was looking forward to it ending in a good way.”
Whitney Hill (North Adams- Softball)- “It’s very heartbreaking. I gave up other sports this year to work and save for college. I was sticking with softball because I’ve played it the longest . and knowing there is a chance I won’t get to play my last high school spot ever is upsetting.”
“I hope that after the three weeks everyone realizes this is not going to stop what is supposed to happen and I hope at the end of this we get to go back to school and work.”
Anna Shupert (West Union- Track)- “I understand why it’s happening but it’s still very sad. This year is the last chance I have to achieve a goal I set as a freshman, to go to state. Now because of COVID-19, I may not even get a chance to go out on the track one last time and give it my all. I know that for me personally, I have been working really hard to do my best, this year especially, but now I (and other seniors), may not have the opportunity to see our hard work pay off.”
Dalton Gardner (North Adams- Baseball)- “It’s honestly heartbreaking. I’ve grown up around baseball my whole life and I’ve played the game ever since the time I could walk. Thinking about my last year being taken away from me breaks my heart.”
“They are already taking away the first part of the season so since they are doing that I hope they can maybe extend the season so myself and all the other seniors participating in a spring sport can get our last experience in full instead of being cut short.”
Kierra Stone (Peebles- Track)- Personally, it’s really devastating that there is a possibility that the last ride I get with my team can be taken away, not only with the successes that we’ve had, but what we could have accomplished this year as well. We had big expectations for this season and to not even get a chance to try and accomplish those is upsetting.”
“What’s worse is that the last time I get to compete with my teammates and close friends may have already happened and I wasn’t even prepared for it. It just doesn’t seem fair for me or any of the seniors anywhere that are affected. We will be hoping for the best and still training individually and making sure that if all goes well we will still be ready to do our best this season and accomplish all of our goals.”
Makayla Conway (North Adams-Softball)- “It honestly sucks, something I’ve played my whole life gets taken away with no possibility of it going into summer or anything like that. I think it’s kind of unfair if I don’t get my senior season or Senior Night like everyone else before. I can only hope they might let us play into the summer if we get to go back to school and maybe it would just have to be a shorter season, but that would be better than nothing.”
Harlee Wilkinson (Peebles- Track)- “Despite this being my first year running track, I was looking forward to spending time with my friends and ending my senior year on a fun note. In most cases, seniors get the time to prepare themselves for graduation, making final memories with their classmates for the past 13 years and having fun, but for the class of 2020…we may not get that opportunity.”
“I understand that it is important to take precautions because health is the top priority, but I never dreamed something myself and so many others have worked for would be cut short. I am going to do my best to make the most of the time I might have left to be with my friends and teammates and not take for granted these last few months.”
One of the most popular athletes in the county is North Adams senior Hunter Rapp, who was looking forward to his senior year on the Green Devils baseball squad. When posed with the question on possibly losing his senior baseball season, Hunter’s mother Robin described the scene.
“Hunter is in his room right now tossing a baseball in the air and catching it. It’s hard for him to understand that his senior year may be over and he might never play with his friends again, he was really looking forward to playing baseball. I have a kid who has been looking forward to graduation for months. It’s all he talked about and now he may not even get to do that. He doesn’t really understand why, he just knows it might happen. The disappointment on his face breaks my heart.”
On Monday, March 23, the Ohio High School Athletic Association sent out an e-mail saying that a decision on the winter sports postponements and the status of spring sports could come sometime this week. As of press time, that news had not yet been released.
