Indiana Area Senior High School

By KIARA DONOFRIO – COVID-19 continues as we start off the 2021 sports year, and wrestling goes on at the Indiana Area Senior High School.  To be able to do so, wrestlers have to follow the specific guidelines set for their health and safety.  Consequently, if they fail to accommodate these regulations, the sport will be forced to stop for the season.

This season is unlike any other due to all of the new rules that have been set into place.  Senior, Tanner Smith says, “It’s different because we have to wear a mask up until our match.  We can’t shake hands with our opponents but we can wrestle them.  Coaches aren’t allowed to wrestle with the kids to show moves and we have to set up two mats so wrestling can happen on one then sanitize the other.”

To ensure their safety, students have to take extra precautions before the matches start.  Senior, Brody Kunselman states, “We take our temperatures, use wipes, and masks when we practice.”  If students have a high temperature they are asked to leave the school.

Overcoming many challenges, it can be difficult to adapt from their regular routines.  When asked what the most troublesome part was, senior Bradley Petras claims, “The masks because it is hard to breathe while running or wrestling.”  For people with health problems, it can be a complication to wear masks during daily life activities.

All sports in the high school are being affected due to the pandemic.  Wrestling is an important sport at our school and involves a lot of touching and close contact. It is important to follow the guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID throughout the school or to families. For some, this is the last year they will have a chance to participate in a high school sport.  For those players, they will lose a one-on-one learning experience with the coaches.

[Photo by Mr. Kunselman]

Photo Caption: Brody Kunselman and his rival are ready for a match as kids in the background and the referee practice their new safety precautions by wearing masks covering their mouth and noses.


Kiara Donofrio

Reporter

Kiara is a senior and a first-year reporter for the High Arrow.  She enjoys volunteering for Key Club and SGA.  She is excited to write articles and to be a part of the staff.