The shock waves have been felt by North Central athletes as COVID-19 puts the country into a panic, and puts an indefinite hold on the sports world.
The North Central men’s basketball team was scheduled to play in their Sweet 16 game on March 13, right here in Naperville. Instead, Merner Field House is empty and the basketball season has come to an unexpected end as the entire tournament has been canceled.
The announcement brought heartbreak to fans across the North Central community. The news was hard, especially for members of the team, including their historic senior class.
“Ultimately I’m heartbroken,” said Aiden Chang, ’20. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team and the effort put in by every single member of our team and coaching staff. This was and always will be a group that I am blessed to be a part of.”
Connor Raridon, ’20, also said “Not being able to play today really hurts. I’m sure the other 15 teams feel the same pain, especially the seniors. It is a really unfortunate circumstance that’s out of our control.”
Another national tournament cancellation included men’s wrestling and the indoor track and field championships. North Central had four wrestlers qualify after another historic season. The team’s Twitter page gave a heartfelt response to their season’s sudden end.
Photo from @NCCwrestling on Twitter
The news got worse for North Central athletes. Just a couple of days later, the CCIW announced that they would be canceling all sports seasons after COVID-19 continued to worsen. Some teams were off to a great start for the spring and now they will never see where that season would take them.
The baseball team was 7-0 before their season came to an end. They were also ranked third in the Perfect Game top 25, with College World Series aspirations. The softball team also found themselves at 7-1 with hopes to finish high in the CCIW.
The women’s lacrosse team had an undefeated start at 5-0. Maddie McHugh, ’20, had just earned her second straight CCIW Player of the Week award before their season ended. Men’s lacrosse finished 4-1.
The NCAA announced that they will grant another year of eligibility to spring athletes if they wish to use it.
