MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – High school senior athletes across the nation are likely still in shock since the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, abruptly put a halt to their final prep seasons. From basketball to track, and from softball to lacrosse, student-athletes are in a bind.
Some are lucky to have already been offered a scholarship to play at the next level, while others were counting on this year to be their time to prove to college scouts that they were worth a shot. Others just wanted to finish out their long-term commitment to a sport they loved, to make memories with their teammates who they consider brothers and sisters. In West Virginia, the glimmer of hope WVSSAC Director Bernie Dolan will lift the suspension is slowly fading with each day that passes – should the state basketball tournaments be held at a later time, it will interfere with AAU, and should the track, tennis, baseball and softball tournaments be held, what season is there to show for it but a few weeks?
University High’s Clay Maholic is one of those seniors waiting out the pandemic, wondering if he’ll get to play a single game in the red and gold this year.
After his American Legion baseball team, Morgantown Post 2, won the state tournament, Maholic went right back to work with Appalachian Aces, playing baseball through the fall rather than playing football for UHS. Further, he was working out five days a week and took part in team-building open gyms on Saturdays with his UHS baseball teammates.
“It’s a little disappointing because of all the hard work we put in,” Maholic said. “Coach (Buck) Riggleman had us motivated for the season. This was going to be our comeback year. We were confident going into the season, and then we got the word about the virus. It’s kinda hard to swallow.”
All isn’t lost for Maholic, though. He’s one of the players who was noticed early by college scouts and decided to commit to Potomac State on Friday. But with that, he’s aware that senior year is a prime opportunity for someone to get noticed. Though he doesn’t know what the cancellation holds for his peers, whether UHS players or not, he has hopes that the virus will clear up enough for American Legion ball to take place, which is another opportunity for some players to receive offers.
“I was talking to (Post 2 coach) Tyler Barnette, and he said that [American Legion ball] shouldn’t be canceled, but the other day [someone] said high school baseball if it starts up, will run to mid-June, which will affect the first couple weeks of American Legion,” he said.
On the other side of Monongalia County, Clay-Battelle senior baseball player Wyatt Morgan has similar sentiments.
“They reached out to me before the season started, so who knows how that would’ve turned out [if they didn’t],” he said. “But even if you’re not getting offers at the beginning of the season if you’re a senior [colleges will look at you throughout that season] especially small schools like Clay-Battelle.”
Initially, when the WVSSAC suspended practices, Morgan didn’t think that it would last as long as it was laid out. With nearly half the season gone after the target date of April 20, it’s a legitimate question to ask, “What will happen?” For now, there’s no answer.
How are his teammates reacting? Morgan noted that everyone is understandably upset, but not about missing out on college offers. Rather, the C-B seniors are concerned about missing out on playing with their friends for the “last hurrah.”
“This is what everything has built up to,” Morgan said. “Last year didn’t go how [we planned] because we didn’t have that big a turnout. This year, we had a lot better turnout and probably the most athletic team I’ve ever been on. Right now, I think we have eight seniors so it’s almost [entirely a] senior team.”
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