Is Quarantining Affecting IHS Sports?

Indiana Area Senior High School

Is Quarantining Affecting IHS Sports?

By Addison Mosco

This year, quarantining has been a big issue. When you are exposed to COVID-19 you are not allowed to attend your sports practice. That has been affecting some of the sports teams and their games outcomes.

Not being able to play and practice gets you out of shape for your sport meaning, your skill level decreases. When it comes time to participate in a game, your skill is not as good as it was before if you can’t attend any practices.. That affects your whole team’s performance and the outcome of the game.

According to senior IHS Swimmer Loughlin Pagnucci, the swim team has not been greatly affected by quarantines. Though they had many quarantines, they did not affect the outcomes of their meets. Pagnucci states, “No-one is qurantintined right now, but a few weeks ago there was a case of COVID which required a few swimmers to be quarantined. We had no meets during that time, but many swimmers missed practices. I don’t think that it has affected the team. We have been having a successful season, which has continued. Hopefully we will not have any more cases before the end of the year with the Mark Hess Invitational and the WPIAL championship.”

When you play a sport that has everyone doing something at the same time, like dance, being quarantined can have a big impact on your performance. You have to be able to attend the practices to learn the routine and practice it. One dancer missing from the dance can mess up the whole thing. Junior Maycie Lorelli, a member of the IHS Dance Team, comments, “Thankfully no one on the dance team is quarantined right now. However, if the basketball team were to have a covid outbreak, it would affect us just as much because we dance at the games as well as come close to the basketball teams. If someone on the dance team were to get quarantined, this would interrupt formations and kicklines so we are staying as safe and covid friendly as possible!”

For some sports you need to have as many players as possible to be able to play efficiently, like basketball. You have a certain number of players on the court then some on the bench. When many students are quarantined from the basketball team, it can affect the whole outcome of games and practices. “Currently we do not have anyone quarantined however we have in the past. When we experienced some members of our team quarantining it was difficult to have a full practice since we were limited to a few players. We also had a game during that time period. We lost one of our starters and had very few players on the bench who were used to playing varsity. It is hard for it to not affect the team. With players who we typically rely on missing it puts different expectations on people that they are not used to.” Senior Girls Varsity Basketball player Hope Cook explains.

In cheerleading, it is also a big deal to have people quarantined. When you have multiple people getting sick and having to quarantine it can affect the whole routine. Sophomore Cheerleader Dakota Sparks comments, “Many of my teammates have been quarantined, but I don’t think any are at the moment. However, two of my teammates are sick and probably have COVID. When there aren’t enough people we can’t go to the games. We also can’t do anything during practice. It affects the outcomes of our routine because during practice if we can’t stunt we will forget everything we have to and it becomes dangerous.”

The overall consensus is that quarantines affect all sports in different ways, some affect the outcome more than others. It all depends on how the sport is played.

You May Also Like...

MiniTHON 2026 is almost here

By Anna Carnovale With Mini-THON quickly approaching on March 19, leadership students have a variety of activities planned for the six-hour fundraising event. The event planning committee has worked to create an action-packed night designed to keep participants engaged throughout the evening. Overall Mini-THON chair Anna Kauffman said several minor changes have been made this year, including the theme and color scheme. This year’s theme is “Love Guides the Story,” with blue, pink, purple and yellow as the featured colors. Kauffman added that one major change is an increased focus on dancing. Madelyn Bauer, a member of the event planning committee, said one of the new dance activities this year will be a dance-off, including the Cotton-Eyed Joe. “I’m excited for it all to come together,” Bauer said. “We’ve all worked so hard.” Kauffman also emphasized the more serious aspects of the event. “A lot of people just think Mini-THON

March 19, 2026

The Death of Literature

By Zoey Motto Put down your phone and open a book. Many young people today do not read nearly as much as they should. Phones, television and other electronics distract them from sitting long enough not only to read, but even to let ideas sink in. Over the past decade, there has been a significant decline in how much young people read. New technology and digital entertainment have contributed to shorter attention spans. When asked what makes young people less interested in reading, Mrs. Lyons, an IHS English and theater teacher, said, “Reading is not part of our culture anymore. We go straight for a phone nowadays. It once was that everyone carried a book instead, and that was entertainment before technology.” New generations often turn to screens instead of pages. As a result, concerns about literacy and reading comprehension have increased over the past decade. Reading does not have

March 18, 2026

IHS Drama Department brings Oliver! to life

By Kaylee Higgins The Indiana Area Senior High School Drama Department is proud to announce the 2026 musical Oliver! Based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Oliver! follows an orphaned boy who escapes a workhouse in Victorian-era England and joins a group of pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger and Fagin. As Oliver searches for a place where he truly belongs, the story explores themes of kindness, survival and the power of hope, even in difficult circumstances. With memorable songs, energetic dance numbers and a full cast of characters, the musical captures both the excitement and challenges of life in the city. Freshman Emily Matty is a member of the props crew, and mentioned she joined the IHS musical this year because she loves theater and has been participating in shows since the sixth grade. Students have spent months preparing the production, working both on stage and behind

March 5, 2026

IHS Girls’ Swimming & Diving snatches WPIAL AA title, boys take runner-up

By Gabi Isenberg IHS Swimming & Diving had an incredible performance at the AA WPIAL Swimming & Diving Championships. The girls team took the championship title for the second year in a row – their second WPIAL win in program history. With a meet full of personal bests, the boys team was runner-up. Notable finishes on the girls’ side included senior Sydney Anderson taking fourth in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard freestyle. Also in the 100-yard freestyle, freshman Jordyn Grove finished seventh. Breaking the school record in the 50-yard freestyle, sophomore Gracie Reed snatched fifth. In the 100-yard butterfly, G. Reed also took fifth, with senior Morgan Grove and junior Veronica Major close behind in places seventh and eighth, respectively. Senior Maddy Bauer delivered an impressive eighth place finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Indiana’s only female WPIAL diver, sophomore Morgan Blystone, took tenth place at the diving

March 2, 2026

IHS Green Bandana attends youth mental health conference

By High Arrow Staff On Friday, February 6, 2026, members of the IHS Green Bandana Project attended the NAMI Youth Mental Health Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. This conference is one of the only conferences in the country specializing in children, adolescents, and transition-age youth. Prior to the conference, students had an opportunity to submit an essay to the Youth Mental Health Leadership Award Essay Contest. This award recognizes the passion and courage of young leaders who are committed to fighting the stigma of mental health conditions, providing a safe community for peers to share their own mental health experiences, and empowering peers through education. We are pleased to announce that IHS senior Anna Carnovale was the 2026 Youth Mental Health Leadership Award recipient. Anna was presented with her award, alongside a $1,000 prize, during the luncheon portion of the conference. The IHS Green Bandana Project would like to thank the

February 18, 2026

Bad Case of Senioritis

By Zoey Motto With graduation just a stone’s throw away, it is no surprise that seniors all over are starting to come down with a bad case of senioritis. So, what is senioritis and how are seniors working to manage it and prevent it from undermining their motivation and success? Senioritis, which has been going on since the beginning of schooling, is the time in which a senior is so close to the end, that they are blinded by it. The excitement of graduation and what comes after distracts them from the now. When asked what she thinks causes senioritis, IHS Senior Isabella Grim stated, “I think seniors are just excited about graduation and finishing high school so they don’t want to do any school work.” The overwhelming feelings of procrastination and stress that comes with senioritis makes seniors just want to not do anything. IHS Senior Sweetsage Barrera commented

February 18, 2026