The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Contenders maintaining optimism
State-caliber athletes trying to contemplate halt
It was a whirlwind to say the least for some of the best NewsHerald coverage area high school track and field has to offer.
March 7 was the state indoor meet at SPIRE, with 10 area event champions crowned across the Division I and Divisions II-III meets, along with Beachwood sweeping the D-II/III team titles and the Mentor girls taking second in D-I.
Less than a week later, as the gravity of the novel coronavirus pandemic began to come into focus, any momentum toward outdoor season was halted cold in its tracks.
One of the biggest challenges — among many, of course — is maintaining optimism for coaches and student-athletes alike amid uncertainty.
“It’s taking its toll for sure,” Mentor girls coach Bob Berwald said.
“Those girls who are higher-level girls, the expectations were that they were going to do great things this year. It’s been really on them, knowing that it’s slipping away. Hopefully, it’s not going to completely slip away.
“We keep talking about it, and if it does get shut down, then we’re going to have to revisit how we’re going to have to address that part of it. I mean, I haven’t really even thought about that. But unfortunately, that’s the reality of it is that it could. There’s a possibility of it. There’s more flexibility with track than I think there is with some of the other sports that are there. I think that’s the benefit that we have.”
With schools ordered closed across Ohio by Gov. Mike DeWine until, at minimum, May 1, the window to salvage at least a portion of the season is limited. Should school resume May 4, a “regular season” would start May 9, it was announced April 8 by the Ohio High School Athletic Association. District (June 9-13), regional (June 17-20) and state (June 2627) would push into June. With Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium unavailable for state competition in June, state would be split into three sites by division for D-I (Hilliard Darby), D-II (Pickerington North) and D-III (Westerville North).
Still, the pause is having an effect.
“Some of my diehards that really, really love track are taking this pretty rough,” Euclid girls coach Larry Nosse said. “They’ve texted me a few times here and there, asking me when we can work out together. Are they going to lift any of this? They’re really disappointed, and I don’t know if they truly do understand right now. I think some of them do. Some of them, obviously, want to get back to normal. They say, ‘Let’s get back on the track. Let’s start working out. Let’s get to these track meets.’ “We were supposed to have our first track meet the other day, and I can understand it. Basically, when I text with them right now, I told them the same thing, that it’s disappointing. Myself and a lot of people have never had to deal with something like this.”
That was especially true for those who were about to transition from state indoor to New Balance indoor nationals in New York the following weekend.
Beachwood’s formidable girls squad, the 2017 and 2018 D-II outdoor state team champion, had qualified standouts Ashley Perryman, Maddie Alexander and Elizabeth Metz for the New Balance meet. The Bison were coming off a banner state indoor performance at SPIRE. Perryman won long jump (17-0 ½) and 200 (25.11), and Alexander went 5-6 to capture high jump in D-II/III.
“All three of us were up at, I think it was like 12:30,” Alexander said. “And we were packing our bags for New York. Thursday night, we were going to leave. Then, we all get an email from New Balance, saying it was canceled. And we were supposed to leave that next morning. So that was really upsetting. Yeah, that really hurt.”
A hurt that was compounded when outdoor season went into a holding pattern as well.
“Oh, it was definitely crazy, just coming off that kind of high,” Perryman said. “We were very excited for outdoor. And yeah, it’s crazy, because nobody could see this coming. But we’ve just got to roll with it. We’re just staying hopeful.”
Improvisation has never been more vital, with athletes going to all sorts of lengths to stay in shape and, basically, hope for the best.
The timeline from ramping up to shutting down was surreal to be sure.
But like many coaches, Berwald is doing his utmost to keep his talented Cardinals squad, paced by dynamic junior and 2019 News-Herald girls track and field athlete of the year Paige Floriea, dialed in as best as possible while providing broader perspective.
“I’m trying to stay as positive as I can for everybody,” Berwald said. “But I look at it from a life standpoint and a learning standpoint. Hopefully, we’re able to get back together at some point and prove that, hey, if you keep pushing through things, bad times all the way through — I’m sure it’s been through everyone’s mind.
“Most of the girls, they think that their season is done. So at some point, maybe there’s that little glimmer of hope. There’s that chance that you might be able to compete this year, so you have to be ready for it.”