LEXINGTON. KY. (LEX 18) — Kentucky Wildcats softball Senior Alex Martens described it best.
"In 48 hours our season was turned upside down." Said Martens.
Sports had been going on business as usual to begin the month of March, then abruptly it switched to no spectators, and after maybe a day or two of that tops, sports as a whole were suspended and canceled from top to bottom.
Some winter sports held onto hope, with South Laurel head coach Chris Souder saying last week that his girls still at least had a glimmer of hope that maybe the KHSAA tournament could be rescheduled. Now all amateur Winter and Spring sports are canceled for 2020, confirming what many knew was inevitable for this past month.
Georgetown Senior Eljay Cowherd was affected by the cancellations as much as any athlete in the state. A star Senior point guard for a Georgetown team that had hopes at back-to-back NAIA National Championships.
"We were going to win the championship," Said Cowherd. "I don't think it was much of a tossup. People have told me I need to be more humble, but I believe in my team."
Cowherd said that it was tough seeing many teams end their careers with a loss and say goodbye on their own terms while his team had their opportunity taken from them.
At the High School level, Seniors of every sport have played in their final game as a High School athlete.
Henry Clay invited all spring sports Seniors to drive around the parking lot one last time as a team Monday night. The Athletics Department lit up the lights and the scoreboard as players from each team saw each other in person for the first time since the season was canceled. A few of the baseball players told LEX18 they believed they were a state championship caliber team.
"It wasn't ideal," said Luc Morgan, a Senior third basemen and pitcher for the Blue Devils. "We found out our season was canceled two days before the home opener. It was rough."
Collegiate Seniors who played a spring sport will be granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA, but the question of who stays and returns is a decision that will differ for each respective athlete and are far from having all the answers in that regard.
