Athletic events postponed in response to COVID-19

Drew Gager, Staff Writer • March 27, 2020

Senior Will Muirhead finishes first in the distance medley relay. This is the first year that high school track has used the DMR as an event.

With the COVID-19 pandemic lingering, all high school sports events have been postponed indefinitely. During their time off, coaches are having athletes participate in virtual practices.

“Each sport has been sending their athletes YouTube workouts and assignments to keep them physically and mentally sharp during this closure,” athletic director Jim Bob Puckett said.

Athletes are disappointed to see their season come to a halt but continue to look for ways to stay active at home.

“It’s a little unfortunate that our season was delayed just because we had a lot of momentum going into the playoffs and our season just stopped abruptly,” junior goalie on varsity soccer Sammy Merrick said. “Although, I have tried to stay in shape by running and getting out, but there’s only so much I can do when I’m stuck at home quarantining during this time.”

Players remain hopeful that University Interscholastic League (UIL) will resume events, and they will be able to continue the rest of their season.

“I honestly have no idea how the season will end,” junior on varsity fishing Clayton Underwood said. “If this virus ends soon then we will definitely finish out the season but regionals were scheduled for April and state for May, so hopefully this ends in the next few weeks.”

As for softball and baseball, UIL has a certain route that they will take to transition into the playoffs this year.

“There has been discussion from UIL, that if we do return and there is enough time, there may be a baseball/softball tournament to decide the District representatives and then go to one game playoffs with multiple games per week,” Puckett said. “There has not been much discussion yet for track, tennis, and golf.”

Lovejoy’s athletics department will continue to reassess the situation and will reschedule sporting events accordingly.

“The number of positive cases in Collin County alone has increased over this past week,” Puckett said. “This is a difficult time for all since we don’t really know what we are battling with this new virus. I am always going to make decisions on the side of caution, as has the state/UIL.”

About the Contributors

Drew Gager, Staff Writer

During his first year with The Red Ledger, sophomore Drew Gager will contribute as a staff writer. His hobbies include golfing and playing video games. He loves to watch football and wants to be a NFL analyst when he grows up. He joined The Red Ledger staff so he could pursue his dreams to be on ESPN and talk about football all day long.. His favorite movie is “Hateful Eight” and he doesn’t have a favorite actor because he believes Samuel L. Jackson, Will Smith, and Denzel Washington are all the best actors of all time. He plans on going to Oklahoma University to major in journalism. After Drew has made five hundred billion dollars doing something (to be determined), he will spend it all on junk food. Drew is a part of a big family at home. He has two sisters and one brother at home, and he knows being a part of The Red Ledger family will be a great experience.

Amiya Callicutt, Photographer

Junior Amiya Callicutt is a photographer on The Red Ledger for her second year. Callicutt is a soccer playing yogi, who loves Jesus. When Callicutt isn't playing soccer, you can find her practicing yoga, listening to music or hanging out with her friends. Callicutt listens to all types of music, except country. Her favorite genre of music is rap or R&B. She loves listening to The Weeknd, Ella Mai and many more artists. Never ask her who her favorite artist is because she will never know. Callicutt doesn't have any pets, but she has four cacti and an aloe vera plant that she loves just as much. Callicutt plays on the Solar u19 ECNL regional team. Callicutt has been playing soccer since she was three years old. Callicutt is very optimistic about this upcoming year.