The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Recruits prepping for uncertain fall season
For all intents and purposes, Justin Wirtz and Dominic Deshuk’s senior track and field seasons started on May 26 when the OHSAA officially allowed schools to reopen for individual skill training.
Although the decision didn’t bring back the already canceled spring sports season, it meant they, like countless other athletes across the state, could finally begin to start working toward a return to organized practice. Only this time, instead of training for a spring filled with meets, they’re training for the next level.
After spending the spring sitting and waiting, Wirtz (a thrower from Brookside attending the University of California-Berkeley) and Deshuk (a hurdler from Amherst attending Mount Union) have spent the past few weeks reacquainting themselves with the sport they spent their senior season away from.
Both Deshuk and Wirtz started practicing again within a week of school’s reopening. For Wirtz, a return to practice meant getting in touch with Alex Johnson, a throwing coach from Avon Lake High School.
Along with going to his local gym and T3 Performance in Avon, Wirtz has met with Johnson at Avon Lake’s track three days a week to lift and work on throwing a two-kilogram discus.
“Before school ended it was a little different because you’re so used to training every day. But once summer hits you’re used to training three times a week instead of going out every single day,” Wirtz said.
Deshuk’s practices brought him back to Amherst’s track where he, along with his future Mount Union roommate Caleb Stempowski, have been training with Amherst’s strength and high jump coaches. Prior to Amherst’s track reopening, Deshuk was training in his backyard with his dad.
“We meet at 9 a.m. every day with our coaches and I’m really grateful they’re
so dedicated to Caleb and me since they’re voluntarily working with us,” Deshuk said. “It’s the best feeling the world to be able to hurdle at my home track. It’s a blessing to be able to go there and train every day.”
Despite missing an entire season of competition, Deshuk believes he’s headed to Mount Union in the best shape of his life.
“I feel like I’m better now compared to (if there was a season) since I’ve been able to spend the past couple months focusing on the small things since I don’t have meets to get ready for,” he said. “With all the time off, I focused on the little things that make things better.”
Unlike Deshuk and Wirtz, Abby Bernhardt’s senior season wasn’t impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Bernhardt — an incoming
freshman at Hiram who played soccer at North Ridgeville — has started meeting with about 20 of her teammates from Hiram once a week for a player-led scrimmage. Prior to attending Hiram’s scrimmages, Bernhardt was working with some players who lived in her neighborhood.
“Our first meeting was last week. It’s just a matter of finding time to meet up in our work schedules,” Bernhardt said. “I’ve met some of them, but it’s learning a different style of play in terms of taking shots from further out and the amount of physicality. Every week we also have a test we have to do that’s usually juggling or some fitness stuff and we have to report our times.”
Even if the collegiate sports landscape looks relatively normal in the fall, the
three of them are each going to have to make changes once they get to school. At Mount Union, Deshuk and the rest of his classmates will be attending class inperson three days a week and online classes two days a week, a decision made to help keep students socially distanced in classrooms.
While Bernhardt’s classes at Hiram aren’t impacted, her living situation is, as all students at Hiram will be living in single dorms.
“I know we’re reporting on Aug. 18, but we have a camp July 7 that we’re supposed to go to,” Bernhardt said. “Our original report date was Aug. 17, so we only pushed that back a day but as of right now I think that’s what we’re keeping it at.”
All of these changes could pale in comparison
to what Wirtz has to go through. Unlike Hiram and Mount Union, the University of California-Berkeley hasn’t made an official decision on whether to reopen in the fall. According to Wirtz, the school should announce an official decision about reopening sometime this week.
“From what I’ve heard from students and academic advisors it sounds like we should be going back,” Wirtz said. “It’s kind of up in the air. It’s a huge thing because I’d rather be out in California and be training there as opposed to staying here on my own and doing classes online.”
No matter what decision is made, Wirtz still has a 2,500-mile journey ahead of him. That journey could become even more complicated due to the coronavirus,
as Wirtz said he could potentially be quarantined in his dorm room once he arrives on campus.
This hasn’t stopped him from training, however, as he threw the two-kilogram discus 46.94 meters last weekend, a little bit off from his end-ofsummer goal of 50 meters.
“I think that’s going to put me in a good position for college. I think I did well this past weekend,” he said. “I’m feeling better and getting a lot closer to my goal.
Even with the coronavirus threatening to complicate his already difficult plans, Wirtz is eager to head west.
“I’m ready to get out of Ohio and head to school in California,” he said. “There are obviously going to be restrictions in California, but I’m ready to deal with them.”