COMMENTARY: Let's honor the seniors who lost their seasons

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  • Columbia third baseman Morgan Hoyle throws to first base to record an out against Chiefland on March 10. (BRENT KUYKENDALL/Lake City Reporter)
    Columbia third baseman Morgan Hoyle throws to first base to record an out against Chiefland on March 10. (BRENT KUYKENDALL/Lake City Reporter)
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We knew it was coming, even before Gov. Ron DeSantis made his announcement Sunday.

In reality, it’s been inevitable for weeks.

There was simply no way high school sports could resume this spring. After DeSantis ordered schools throughout the state to continue distance learning through the rest of the academic year, the Florida High School Athletic Association finally made the difficult decision Monday it had been putting off for weeks — canceling the spring sports season.

We’ve already seen covid-19 affect major sporting events. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments were canceled in March and so was the PGA’s British Open, which was scheduled for July. The NBA and NHL seasons were suspended indefinitely in March as well, and MLB hasn’t even had a chance to start its schedule.

The major sports leagues are on hiatus until at least June. Some think July. Others believe we won’t see the teams back in arenas until next year.

If that was the case for professional sports, what chance did high school sports have? None, really.

And look, I get it. The FHSAA wanted to hold out hope it could resume the season. Crushing the hopes of seniors across the state was a move it didn’t want to make until it absolutely had to do so.

But it’s one that needed to be made. It’s also one that doesn’t come without plenty of sorrow from this writer that’s gotten to know several athletes at Columbia and Fort White the past few years.

It’s gut-wrenching news, especially for those seniors who won’t get to finish their careers chasing state championships. And there were some right here in Columbia County who had that opportunity stripped away.

Most notably, there’s Columbia track & field athlete Asherah Collins, who won the state title in the triple jump as a junior. The UCF signee was the odds-on favorite to repeat again as a senior. Instead, she won’t even get a chance to defend her gold medal.

State titles don’t come often at Columbia. No individual had won multiple championships since swimmer Hannah Burns won five in the first half of the decade. But Collins would’ve been the next and my heart breaks for her.

Some of Collins’ track and field teammates are left wondering, “What if?” as well. Twin brothers Derek Johnson and Devin Johnson, who were on the 4x100 relay team that qualified for state last year, won’t get a shot at redemption next month.

Columbia’s weightlifting team had its contenders too. Marlon Pollock sixth at last year’s state meet and was poised to finish higher on the medal stand in his final season. Kylen Callum, a state qualifier in 2019, was also in line to end his senior year with a medal.

Then there’s the Columbia baseball team, winners of five straight district titles. Seniors Coyle Giebeig, Hunter Thomas, Lance Minson, Tyler Yaxley and Daylon Lumpkin were eager to make it six. They didn’t want to be known as the class that ended the streak.

Watching those dog piles on the mound after each championship has become a tradition I look forward to every spring, one I’m going to miss in a few weeks.

I can’t leave out Columbia’s softball team, either. Plenty of seniors graduated from the 2019 squad but there was no rebuilding under coach Trudy Andrews. Seniors Lucy Giebeig, Morgan Hoyle, Caroline Lewis, Whitney Lee and Cadence Mirra wouldn’t allow it. 

Instead, those five ladies had the squad off to a 9-3 start and poised to return the playoffs, bringing leadership to several young players that needed it. I was excited to watch that group grow into April and make some noise in the postseason.

And across the county, Fort White was starving for a program to make a deep playoff run. Through seven games, the baseball team looked like the answer to those prayers.

Behind Florida signee Tyler Shelnut and South Georgia State signee Mikah Gustavson, the Indians were off to a 6-1 start and looked like true contenders after moving down to Class 1A. The roster was loaded with more seniors, including Kameron Couey, Dalton Brooks, Hunter Hadorn, Jacob Feagle and Andrew Faul, and it was a class that could have led Fort White to the Final Four in Fort Myers.

Even through seven games, it was pretty clear this was coach Rick Julius’ best team since Willie Carter and Rhett Willis graduated.

So many athletes left the field in March expecting there to be another game or practice tomorrow. Instead, this virus has proven that tomorrow isn’t promised.

To the seniors who won’t get one last moment to shine, who won’t get to walk on Senior Night, I want to honor you. Starting next week, I am going to start recognizing seniors across the county who had their seasons cut short this spring.

Each day, I will spotlight one senior. I’ve already reached out to coaches at both high schools but you can reach out to me individually as well via email or phone.

These seniors deserved a better ending, and I want to give it to them.

It’s the least I can do after all the memories you’ve given me.