Cross county could be the first high school sport to start. But details are unclear.
Cross Country may be the first high school sport allowed to compete this week, but one local cross country coach said his team would need at least a month before a meet could be held.
“I want my athletes to compete,” said Morgan Gallegos, Gregori High’s head varsity track and field coach and assistant cross country coach. “Will our fitness level be wise to do that right now? Not everyone can just out and run five to eight miles. They need to build a base.”
Gallegos said he hasn’t been able to hold an in-person workout since December (Stanislaus County shut down conditioning workouts) and the coaching staff sent them a workout calendar but he doesn’t know how many of his runners have been keeping up with the workouts.
In a news conference on Jan. 19, California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said competitions may begin on Jan. 25 (the date the state set in updated youth guidelines in December), but it’s not 100% certain.
“But obviously the state of the surge and the conditions in many, many of our communities are pretty dire, pretty significant, so trying to work with those different partners to make sure that we land in a place that allows us to do what we’ve always wanted to do, which was resume activities that so many people miss but do it safely,” Ghaly said.
If competitions are allowed, counties would need to be out of stay-at-home orders and which sports can be played will be designated by the county tier.
Stanislaus County, part of the San Joaquin Valley Region currently under the order with available adult intensive care unit beds at 0%, also is in the purple tier. So the only Season 1 sport able to start is cross country. Football, volleyball, and water polo all are allowed in orange tier, which requires 2% to 4.9% positivity rate of COVID-19 tests.
Stanislaus County currently has a positivity rate hovering around 17%.
“With cross country, I am confident we will have a season,” Gallegos said. “We are a safe sport. Golf and tennis are, too. Why can’t those sports happen?”
Golf and tennis are tentatively scheduled to start on Feb. 15 in the Sac-Joaquin Section.
Gallegos said when he saw how other states had cross country seasons, he saw smaller races and instead of everyone lining up together at the starting line, they were separated.
“I think we will have starting line where your top three will be in front and other three will be zigzagged and 6 feet apart,” Gallegos said.
Central California Athletic League Commissioner Ed Felt said in addition to how many runners will be allowed at races, other questions regarding cross country include the number of spectators allowed and where races can be held.
“As far as cross country, I’ve been advised by both the City of Modesto and Turlock that they are not currently accepting requests for the reservations and rentals of the parks where the CCAL holds its meets,” Felt said in an e-mail. “Yes, (cross country) would seem to be the first season one sport to begin IF there are (cross country) courses available, IF county health and school districts allow this competition to begin with very large gatherings of athletes, coaches and observers, and IF districts can transport very large rosters of teams while socially separated, possibly in cohorts, on buses.”
The Sacramento Region is out of stay-at-home orders and there are a couple of cross country meets scheduled for next week.
Sac-Joaquin Section Assistant Commissioner Will DeBoard said what he thinks will happen is schools host “Dual Meets” where two or three schools face each other at one time and then leave the course before two or three other schools race.
CIF makes rule change: After previously suspending CIF Bylaw 600-605 (Outside Competition) for the 2020-21 school year, which allowed athletes to play on club and high school sports teams at the same time, the CIF rescinded that rule on Wednesday, effective immediately.
An athlete may no longer play for a club and high school team at the same time and in the same sports season.
However, if an athlete has played for a club team while being on their current high school team, their eligibility is not jeopardized because high school athletics have yet to begin.
Three sections (Central, Los Angeles, and Southern) also canceled their fall playoffs on Tuesday, a decision the Sac-Joaquin Section made last December.
Central Catholic alum transfers to Fresno State: Central Catholic alum Daron Bland committed to Fresno State on Thursday.
Bland, a defensive back, spent the last three years at Sacramento State, where he was an All-Big Sky honoree in 2019.
Sac State elected to opt out of the 2020 season so Bland will have two years of eligibility left.
This story was originally published January 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
