CIF cancels athletics for rest of spring season

Local athletes and sports programs were dealt a devastating blow last month when all athletic practices and events were postponed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the midst of social distancing, the call for a ban on large-group gatherings and stay-at-home warnings, some athletes continued to work out and stay in shape in hopes the spring high school season would be reinstated at a later date.

Unfortunately, as the COVID-19 epidemic continued to grow and the number of infected increased, the possibility of resuming the spring campaign drew dimmer by the day.

Those fears were realized when the CIF, the governing body of high school sports in the state, made the decision to cancel the remainder of the spring sports season.

That decision was delivered in a statement Friday afternoon by CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti.

“Based on the recent statements issued by Governor [Gavin] 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 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) does not see an avenue for the spring sports season to continue,” the statement read. “As such, in consultation today with the 10 Section commissioners, the decision has been made to cancel spring Section, Regional, and State Championship events.

“We understand this is disappointing for everyone involved in education-based athletics and empathize with our student-athletes and all who are impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. As always, our top priority is everyone’s ongoing health and safety during this challenging time, and we all look forward to the day when education-based athletics resumes.”

The decision came three days after Thurmond acknowledged in a letter to district superintendents that schools would likely not reopen this school year in wake of safety concerns over the COVID-19 crisis.

(Raul Roa/Staff photographer)

“I’m writing to you regarding the current status of schools in California,” the letter stated. “As you know we continue to deal with the impacts of the coronavirus and how those impacts make it unsafe for our students to be served on school campuses at this time. The need for safety through social distancing warrants that we continue to keep our school campuses closed to students during this pandemic.

“Due to the current safety concerns and needs for ongoing social distancing it currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year. This is in no way to suggest that school is over for the year, but rather we should put all efforts into strengthening our delivery of education through distance learning.”

The decision to cancel the spring sports season has been devastating news for players and coaches. It has become a lost season for many and will likely spell the end of the playing careers for many seniors who will not compete in college.

Lincoln Melcher was in the midst of his sophomore year with the Burroughs High boys’ golf team when the season came to a halt. He was looking to add to a successful freshman campaign with the Indians.

A year ago, Melcher, who has verbally committed to UCLA, finished second in the Pacific League. He helped the Indians place second in the league team standings.

Melcher then experienced impressive results in Southern California tournaments. He finished his season at the CIF/Southern California Golf Assn. Southern California Boys’ Championship, tying for 25th with a two-over-par 74 at Brookside Golf Course No. 1 in Pasadena.

The softball field at Olive Park is vacant after the high school season was canceled because of the coronavirus.

(Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

“I’m trying to stay positive about the whole current situation,” said Melcher, who also takes part in Southern California PGA Junior tournaments, which have also been halted. “Everyone else is going through the same thing, so there are certain things you can do to get ahead and conditioning is definitely one of the ways. Also, I set up a net in my backyard, I’ve been hitting balls every day and I have a putting mat in my room that I use.

“It’s tough right now, but this is the right thing to do. It’s just disappointing because we felt we had a good team this year and we had a good chance at playing for a league title.”

Providence High baseball coach Mando Contreras said he feels for the players who have seen their season come to a crashing halt. But he is trying to help his players through the tough time and has an ingenious idea to salute his seniors.

“The guys who have been on varsity for four years and have grinded and worked hard to get to this point, it’s especially tough for them,” Contreras said. “They have seen other players get honored the past few years in our senior game, and they won’t be able to experience that. ...I feel for them. But at the same time we know shutting things down now is the right thing to do.

“But actually we have this thing going with my coaches and I, where we want to honor those seniors and host their senior night next year, maybe during their winter break or first year of college. We said we are going to do something for them, whatever it is, maybe have a game in spring that instead of an alumni game we have a returning senior game. We will get it down for them.”

One athlete who has been maintaining a workout regimen during the shutdown is Burbank high distance runner Victor Goli, a senior. He and a group of Bulldogs athletes kept up their training in hopes the track and field season would resume.

Goli was looking to make nose in track and field after he and a talented group enjoyed a wealth of success in the fall during the cross-country campaign. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a fifth-place finish in the Division I boys’ race at the CIF State Championships, the best finish in program history.

In state competition, Goli improved 20 spots in the final mile to place 14th in 15 minutes, 20.7 seconds.

He was looking to translate that success in track and field and hoped to defend his Pacific League title in the boys’ 3,200 meters (9:26.23).

“It’s just really tough right now,” said Goli, who recently committed to Cal State Northridge. “We had a talk with coach [Kathryn] Nelson at the beginning of this and it’s ironic that two days before this coronavirus outbreak happened we were talking about the track season and how well we were going to race the mile and the 3,200 and planning things out. Then two days later, everything got canceled.

“We have been working out so that we would be ready if the season started up again. We wanted to stay optimistic about the possibility. We thought we were still going to have CIF and maybe [the] Arcadia [Invitational]. But when they postponed the Olympics, we knew they weren’t going to keep CIF. That’s tough.”

Keith Knoop is a former longtime football coach who now serves as athletic director at Burroughs High.

Knoop said while the cancellation of spring sports is a big loss, the stoppage might also bleed into the fall campaign.

“You feel bad for all the people who have put all the hard work in,” he said. “From my perspective, and I’ve been doing this for a long time, sports is such a small thing compared to what’s going on globally. It’s all unfortunate, but it is something that we have to do right now because the more important thing is you want to come out of this thing alive.

“Things are changing within the hour with this thing. So, we don’t know what to expect in the future. Some people are talking about how this might affect football and the sports in the fall ... We have a new football coach who hasn’t even met with his team in person yet and we don’t know when he will be able to do that.”

Flintridge Prep senior baseball player Ben Grable and the Rebels entered the season with high expectations.

Grable, a pitcher/shortstop who will be attending Northwestern University in the fall, hasn’t been able to participate in practices or games since mid-March.

“It’s really tough for us because we had a very good team and we were expecting to go far in the playoffs,” said Grable, an All-CIF football honoree last fall. “It’s been a crazy experience these last few weeks and it’s the first time in a couple of years that I haven’t gone to practice right after school.

“We understand the move for CIF to shut down the season and it’s the smart thing to do. I can’t blame them for their decision.”

Crescenta Valley standout and all-state softball pitcher Dee Dee Hernandez had plans to try to help the Falcons win a second consecutive CIF championship.

Hernandez, a junior left-hander who also is a member of the Mexican National Team, said while it’s difficult not having the opportunity to try to win another title, she agrees with the decision handed down by CIF.

“If CIF’s best interest is to take care of us, then I’m all for stopping the season,” Hernandez said. “I don’t want anybody getting sick and I’m all for safety first.

“I miss going out to the field after school to practice or play games because it made your days full of happiness. There’s really no point playing games [on the field] and we should be staying inside now. It’s important that we stay safe and positive.”

Joe Campbell wears two hats as the girls’ and boys’ lacrosse coach at Glendale High. Campbell agreed that the CIF office made the correct move to scrap the season.

“I don’t think CIF had any choice but to shut down the season,” Campbell said. “Even if we did have a season, say April 15, there wouldn’t be any teams because the parents wouldn’t let their kids play.

“It’s out of our hands at this point. I definitely feel bad for the seniors. At least in college, you can come back next year if you are a senior. You can’t do that in high school. There’s so much that’s unknown right now and how will you react? I’m cautious about the virus. We’ve had some aggressive flu seasons before. We now have a new view or outlook on how we look at sickness.”

Peter Kim, who is the girls’ swimming coach and athletic director at Crescenta Valley, said he’s still getting used to sports not being played.

“On my phone, I have a list of events that I’m either coaching or supervising,” said Kim, who guided Crescenta Valley to a CIF Southern Section Division III championship last season and is the school’s former assistant principal in charge of athletics. “On my phone today [April 1], the reminder of a swim meet we were to have at Burbank popped up.

“It gets emotional because you feel for the seniors and those who might not be swimming anymore after this season. It’s so hard for them, but you have to do what’s right. It’s about being safe and staying positive and that’s what we need to focus on here.”

The La Cañada High boys’ swimming team was also hoping to build on a historic CIF Division II title-winning season with All-American senior Danny Syrkin leading the way.

La CaĂąada High swimmer Danny Syrkin and the Spartans saw their season come to an end because of the coronavirus.

(File Photo)

Syrkin, a USC-commit, was coming back from a ligament injury sustained in the summer and not only hoped to lead the Spartans to return Rio Hondo League and CIF titles, but looked forward to the Olympic Trials and maybe a spot in the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

With the Olympics pushed back a year and his high school swimming career coming to an abrupt end, it was initially tough for the accomplished All-America swimmer.

“The main thing for me is not the performance aspect,” Syrkin said. “It’s the memories that I would’ve made with everybody in my time at La Cañada. That’s the thing that really stings for me.”

“It’s obviously really easy to get upset at what’s happened. The fact that we’re not getting the memories and the opportunities to go and compete and do what we love this final year [hurts], but I think in times like these, instead of focusing on what couldn’t be, I think we should focus on the great experiences that we did have in these past few years of high school. Just because this season was cut short for us doesn’t take away from all the great things that may have happened to us. I think it’s good to reflect and still be grateful for what we had.”

Last season, Syrkin defended his CIF title in the 100-yard butterfly and captured the crown in the 50 freestyle.

The senior also collected All-American marks at the league finals, the CIF Southern Section Swimming and Diving Championship and the CIF State Swimming and Diving Championship, and recorded a national-best time of 46.63 seconds in the 100 butterfly to win the event at the state competition.

The challenge for Syrkin now is to stay in shape with public pools now closed.

In the meantime, the senior works out in his 13-yard backyard pool with bungee cords to stay active and prepare with his collegiate career in sight.

This also gives him time to fully recover, having racked up injuries in his junior year.

“I think the fact that the Olympic trials and the Olympics itself are moved back one year will actually be beneficial for me in the long run because I’ll be able to actually put in a solid year of training that is, hopefully, not hindered by any injuries,” Syrkin said. “I’ll be starting my first year at USC, hopefully grow into an even greater athlete there and be ready to attack the Olympic trials in 2021 and try and climb the ranks up as much as possible in hopes to make the team.”

On the diamond, the La CaĂąada softball team hoped to defend its Rio Hondo League title for a sixth time in what could have been a tougher season than usual.

Spartans coach Chuck Gunter anticipated that improvements around the league could be a challenge for the team, but after a strong start to the season and a shutout victory against Temple City in the league opener, La CaĂąada had momentum on its side.

“I wish we can play San Marino, Monrovia and even South Pasadena,” Gunter said. “They have a new coach, so it’s always fun to play somebody when they have someone else coaching them and you can see the changes. The league’s getting better and better and it would’ve been fun to play.”

The Spartans had a bright start to their campaign and were unbeaten in the first eight games (7-0-1) before the 4-0 win against the Rams on March 6.

“I think we showed them that we’re still the team to win league,” Gunter said. “The score was only 4-0, but we left bases loaded three times. We really dominated them, so I wish we could play them again and show that it was not just a fluke.”

This season, La Cañada shortstop Ian Tinkham hoped to help the baseball team make another run at a CIF Southern Section title game after last year’s bid for a championship fell short in the Division III final.

Like the softball team, the Spartans baseball team opened up Rio Hondo League play with a win versus Temple City.

With a team that graduated key seniors from last season’s title run, Tinkham was one of six seniors that hoped to lead a young team to a second consecutive league title and a deep run in the playoffs.

“It’s the worst thing that my senior year has been taken away,” said Tinkham, who hit .444 with eight hits and four runners batted in in five games this season. “I wish I could be out on the field with all my friends playing because that’s what I want to do. But I know my venture for baseball is not over and I know that this isn’t my last year. I’m keeping my head high.”

Tinkham was an all-league first-team returning shortstop for the Spartans, whose season ends with a 2-6 overall record after a tough nonleague schedule.

Like Syrkin, Tinkham is recovering from an injury he suffered last summer. Tinkham tore his left labrum, but was able to recover in time to compete in a few games early in the season.

“The players want to play,” Tinkham said. “If it’s possible, we just want a season. We want games. The athletes and the students want games to play. It doesn’t matter when. If it gets postponed, we’ll still play and it will be still fun. We just want a senior year.”

There were also a handful of first-year coaches that took over spring programs at La CaĂąada.

One of them was Mark Jewell, who took over the girls’ lacrosse team with hopes to grow a young program.

However, for Jewell and three of his seniors, their season came to a sudden halt.

“I just feel incredibly fortunate to have an opportunity to be involved with coaching this year at La Cañada,” Jewell said. “It was so unique even though it’s been what it is. Coaching girls for the first time at this level and just watching them grow as much as I did in a very limited time was super rewarding.

“I have nothing but the utmost respect for all those seniors across the board and what they’re going through. I hope we all collectively as coaches and administrators come up with something for these guys to recognize their efforts.”

With three seniors, which included Pacific League first-team honoree Jessica Jewell, league honorable-mention Erin Buchanan and varsity veteran Emma Rodriguez, the Spartans were improving despite being mainly comprised of underclassmen.

On a roster of 21 players, only three other athletes were juniors.

“Based on where we were and the trajectory on developing this group, they were moving a lot faster than I would have anticipated,” Jewell said. “From that standpoint, I think it would’ve been a great season with a much better win-loss scenario and the culture already turned the corner with what we had going on.”

The Spartans won their last two games before contests were suspended. They finished with a 2-2 record.

In a conversation with his daughter, Jessica, the coach reflected on what might ring true with plenty of athletes across the state who are now without a sport to play: “She said, ‘I guess I know now what it feels like to take things for granted when you don’t have a chance to finish something that you thought you might,’” Mark Jewel said.

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