By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's hard to criticize any school board -- in this case the Unified School District 501 board -- for ruling on the side of safety in the age of COVID-19.
I believe the 501 board had the best interests of student-athletes in mind when it chose not to allow wrestling to begin, effectively canceling the entire 2020-21 wrestling season for Highland Park, Topeka High and Topeka West, although I sincerely wish the board could have found a way to follow the lead of more than 200 other schools across the state and allowed district teams to compete in some form this winter.
District schools in other sports have shown to be willing to do anything the board mandates -- masks, limited numbers in practice and games, etc. -- just to have a chance to play.
Whether the board's decision was a good or bad one won't be known for several months, but there's no doubt it's going to be a hard pill to swallow for those involved.
The Scots, Trojans and Chargers have had to sit and watch since the start of practice on Nov. 16 as schools across the state have been allowed to practice and then compete. Now those athletes and coaches have to face the realization that their season is over before it started while other Kansas schools are getting set to kick off their postseason bids.
Six schools, including three city schools, will compete in the Centennial League championships Friday (girls at Seaman) and Saturday (boys at Hayden) while the revamped Kansas State High School Activities Association postseason format will begin early next month, culminating with state tournaments Feb. 25-27.
As I stated earlier, safety has to be a top priority when making decisions, but the importance of being able to participate in activities from both a physical and mental standpoint, can also not be under-estimated.
There's probably no going back from the decision the USD 501 board made now, with postseason assignments already made, but it's also important to remember that the athletes involved are in pain and support them any way possible.
Whether that means helping the athletes get involved in one of the outstanding amateur wrestling programs in the city/area, helping them attend a wrestling camp or just offering some encouraging words, it's important to help keep as many as possible engaged in the sport.
