Update: High school, college sports schedules in Stanislaus County brace for big changes
High school and college sports in Stanislaus County are bracing for big changes due to the coronavirus threat.
After the cancellation of the state basketball championships due to the coronavirus outbreak, CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti will meet with section commissioners on Tuesday to decide the status of spring sports.
The basketball championships were scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento before they were canceled Thursday morning.
“This decision was made after careful deliberation and in the primary interest of protecting the health and safety of our member schools, fans, and most importantly, our student-athletes,” Nocetti said in a press release. “While we understand this decision is disappointing, we strongly believe that the opportunity to compete in this event does not outweigh our obligation to place the health and safety of our member schools and school communities above all else.”
Nocetti continued: “We want to recognize the hard work and commitment our student-athletes have made to reach the State Basketball Championships. The impact of COVID-19 created many unexpected challenges during this year’s tournament season, and we want to thank everyone involved for their flexibility, patience, and commitment in providing our student-athletes a great experience despite this unique situation.”
How the coronavirus is effecting the Stanislaus District
Meanwhile, colleges and semi-professional teams in the Stanislaus District area have canceled and-or postponed games or put seasons on hold as of Thursday afternoon.
Here are some of the changes:
- Oakdale High has suspended all athletic competition March 31.
- Modesto City Schools and Turlock high schools will not change their schedules.
- The Mother Lode League has suspended competition until April 1.
- Los Banos athletes will not compete until further notice.
- Merced sports will be on hold until April 13.
- The American Hockey League suspended its season. The Stockton Heat are one of the teams.
- The California Collegiate Athletic Association suspended all athletic events. Stanislaus State is a member of the league.
The Stanislaus District Track Meet scheduled for Friday at Riverbank has been canceled.
Merced Unified High School District suspended all school events through Spring Break and will re-evaluate their status on April 1, according to a press release. Central Valley and Patterson compete in the Central California Conference with five Merced Union HSD schools.
- Modesto Junior College’s baseball game against Cosumnes River on Thursday was postponed. Cosumnes River has suspended all athletic events. The school announced it was suspending all athletics until the end of March.
- The CCCAA announced later Thursday that all spring sports were suspended indefinitely.
- With Major League Baseball canceling spring training and delaying the start of the season for at least two weeks, the start of the Modesto Nuts season has also been postponed.
- The XFL suspended the rest of its season. Former Central Valley High standout Ja’Quan Gardner played for the Seattle Dragons.
- The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section have added a link to see all of the cancellations by various school districts/schools.
This story will be updated as soon as information becomes available.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 11:57 AM.
