By: Krissy Hetherington
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread and disrupt the lives of students throughout California, Redwood athletes’ hopes of continuing their spring season were dashed earlier this month.
On April 3, California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) decided to cancel the remainder of the spring season for all high school teams in the state.
“Based on the recent statements issued by Governor Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, regarding schools turning to distance learning for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, the [CIF] does not see an avenue for the spring sports season to continue,” CIF said in a news release.
This comes as devastating news for Redwood athletes, especially seniors who lost the chance to finish their final season.
Seniors say goodbye too soon
The end of the spring season is hard on every student athlete, but for varsity players and the Class of 2020, all of their hard work leading up to this year feels like a waste. To know that Senior athletes laced up their cleats, put on their swim caps, and ran their last race without knowing it was the last time, is something many will never forget.
Athletes across all sports, such as Track runner, Chloe Schultz, ’20, used the off season to hit the gym and focus on mentally and physically preparing for the upcoming season.
“I definitely had my eyes set on breaking 58 seconds in the 400 and am very devastated that I didn’t get the chance to do that but I am glad I worked hard enough to improve and get a PR in my first and last race,” said Schultz after running a 61-second 400m at Sanger Spring Classic.
“I have so many memories being out on the track with my girls and the fact that I didn’t get a proper goodbye makes me so emotional. We have seen each other at our best and worst moments and have never stopped motivating each other to be the best we can be! I genuinely have never seen a group of people more motivated to achieve success for not only themselves, but for one another & am devastated to say that our time is already up.”
Chloe Schultz, ’20, Mid-distance runner for Redwood Track and Field
Long distance runner, Sophia Dominguez, ’20, was looking forward to a comeback season after ankle surgery and recovery during last season. This year, she competed in two meets where she PR’d in the 1600m and 3200m before unexpectedly saying goodbye to running for Redwood.
“The news didn’t even feel real because I had just hoped to compete with my team and have an official end to my sport. Missing track as a Junior was one of the hardest experiences and it showed me that I actually couldn’t function without running.
“It was my stress reliever and comfort place. Going into senior year I really just wanted to make up for lost time and treat each race as if it’s my last because I knew how that felt last year,” said Dominguez.
“Running allowed me to find my group of people that I love to spend time with. Track also gave me the confidence in myself and taught me lessons about ambition and determination that I will use for the years to come. I’m going to miss the community of runners and friends that I met along the way. I have never been on a team that special that is a family on and off the track.”
Sophia Dominguez, ’20, Long Distance runner for Redwood Track and Field
Swimmer, Nathan Thompson, ’20, set many goals for his season, such as keeping the team’s WYL winning streak alive and looking forward to the chance to be on the podium for Valley in at least one event this year.
“My senior season was really important to my future because the college I am going to attend needed times for this year to confirm my spot on the team. I risked injuring my shoulder again for a season that ended up not mattering, so that was hard to deal with also,” said Thompson.
After winning the 800m at the 2019 Central Section Track and Field meet, Ryan Hemphill, ’20, was ready to defend his valley title and place top three at State this year. He said had much confidence in the team and their strength going into this 2020 season.
Fortunately, he was able to lock in his times from junior season and will be running track and cross country at Pepperdine next year.
“Track definitely means a lot to me, I love being out there and running with the team. It really sucked to not finish the season properly especially since it was my senior year, but since I’m running in college I’ll have more track seasons so it’s ok,” Hemphill said.
Senior captain of the Boys Tennis team, Tristen Schieferle, ’20, said, “I loved leading the team and just being around everyone I’m going to miss encouraging and amping everyone up before matches and during practices.”
Schieferle has been on the Varsity team since his sophomore year. “At the beginning I used to beat myself up quite a bit, but as I progressed I’ve come to crave the sport and love being on the court,” he said.
This season, the Boys Tennis team was competing for their 8th WYL Championship in a row and the boys each set goals to individually place in league as well.
Being one of three seniors on the Baseball team, Ryan Rios, ’20, was looking forward to competing for back to back WYL titles, playing with and against his friends, and being the best teammate possible for his final season.
“I felt like part of my senior year of sports was taken from me. As a team, we were just hitting our stride and had momentum going into league play. It is tough to see the hard work and time we put in go away so quickly. We were are all so close to each other that going out to the field everyday just felt like hanging out with your friends. Not being able to play with this group of guys again will be something I miss.”
Ryan Rios, ’20, First Baseman for Redwood Baseball
To the Class of 2020 who did not get to say goodbye to their sport, teammates, coaches, and the hopes and goals set for this season, thank you. Thank you for your countless hours of hard work, dedication, and commitment you each put into Redwood’s athletic program. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed and we wish each of you the best in the future.
We hope you can look back at the past few years full of good memories, tough lessons, and friendships gained along the way.
Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings on the season being canceled, best sports memories, or a word of encouragement for athletes below in the comments.
Stay tuned for more sports updates and stories about the Coronavirus on Redwoodgigantea.com.