With the announcement on Friday that all Maryland public schools would be closed through May 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic, many high school athletes from across the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference are beginning to accept the fact that a spring sports season will not occur.
In the weeks since the initial closings of schools throughout the state that started March 16, officials have set tentative dates on which to reopen. Prior to Friday’s announcement of the latest extension through May 15, schools had been closed through April 24 with the hopes of students and teachers returning to classes on April 27.
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association did not provide an update to the public after the latest school closure extension and forwarded Southern Maryland Newspapers to Lora Rakowski, director of communications with the Maryland State Department of Education.
Rakowski said in an email Monday night: “There are no new updates. Schools are closed until May 15 and no further decisions have been made at this time regarding athletics.”
So even if schools resume after the latest extension, high school athletes would return to class for a short time unless the school year is possibly extended. Several seniors from across the SMAC have now accepted the fact that they will likely not see their classmates and/or teammates again this school year.
“It seems like every day that goes by there is a better chance that we will not be going back to school at all,” said Chopticon High School senior Katelynn Perrotta, who plays girls lacrosse for the Braves in the spring and finished up her basketball career this winter. She is heading to Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania this fall and will play lacrosse. “Even if we go back, we might only be there for three or four days. It’s been difficult, but in the long run it’s probably best for everyone.”
La Plata High School seniors Sydney Bales and Jayci Chamberlain were both seeking their third straight Class 2A state titles as members of the Warriors softball team and fellow senior Ryan Calvert was looking for his second consecutive state baseball championship. But a May 18 class resumption gives the trio little hope of even an abbreviated spring season.
“It’s heartbreaking because we had put in so much work to get ready for the season,” said Bales, who is headed to George Mason University for softball. “For me, I get to play another four years and so will Jayci. But for a lot of the seniors this was their last chance to play softball.”
“A lot of the girls on the team won’t have the opportunity to play after they graduate,” said Chamberlain, who is headed to North Carolina State University for softball. “We had a lot of girls back from last year and all of us were excited to be able to compete for another state championship. But now it looks like that is not going to happen.”
“I thought our team had a really good chance to win another state title,” said Calvert, who is headed to the University of North Carolina Wilmington for baseball. “We had a lot of our same guys back and we could have been even better than we were last year.”
Northern High School junior Oakley Olson was among Calvert County’s top female athletes during the cross country and indoor track and field seasons, but the Patriots’ standout understands this season is virtually a washout. Olson has several summer events planned and is still in the process of narrowing down her college choices for the fall of 2021.
“I know our team had a lot of goals that we wanted to hit during the spring and I had some personal goals that I wanted to reach,” Olson said. “So, in the meantime with all the practices and meets being canceled I have been working out and taking part in time trials. Even though we will not have a spring season, I am still looking forward to coming back in the fall and seeing all of my teammates again for cross country.”
Also still waiting and hoping are the St. Charles High School boys basketball and Westlake High School girls basketball teams, who had their seasons halted before the state semifinals.
