Illness to keep Ursinus out of league meet

Due to a stomach illness outbreak that has affected over 180students over the past 48hours, the Ursinus College wrestling team will not compete in Saturday’s Centennial Conference championships.

COLLEGEVILLE >> Due to a stomach illness outbreak that has affected over 180 students over the past 48 hours, the Ursinus College wrestling team will not compete in Saturday’s Centennial Conference championships.

The College worked in conjunction with the Centennial Conference office and McDaniel College, which is hosting the championship tournament, to come to a joint decision.

On Tuesday evening a number of Ursinus students were taken ill with a gastrointestinal illness, and the count of those reporting symptoms reached 185 by Thursday afternoon. Many of those students are now on the mend and feeling better. Consistent with recommendations from the Montgomery County Health Department (MCHD), the College closed its dining facilities Wednesday afternoon. As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the MCHD had completed its investigation of the Wismer dining facilities and cleared them to re-open for dinner.

Classes were closed Thursday afternoon and for Friday, and many students chose to leave campus. The college will remain open Friday to provide regular services, but registered social events and other activities were canceled through the weekend as a precautionary measure.

The cancellations extended to a large portion of this weekend’s athletics schedule. The gymnastics team canceled its trip to Towson, and a pair of men’s lacrosse scrimmages slated for Friday were also dropped. A basketball doubleheader originally scheduled for Thursday was postponed to Monday, February 15, and the softball team canceled its skills clinic, which had been slated for Sunday.

Additional updates, if necessary, will be posted on ursinusathletics.com, Ursinus.edu and on Twitter at @ursinuscollege.