Spring sports usually begin late February and last until May, but because the school closure that began on March 16 will go until the end of the school year due to COVID-19, multiple sports including swim and track and field are cancelled. For some the cancellation of sports are trivial but to others such as the seniors, the cancellations can mean a lot. 

 

Senior Gabrielle Benavidez had been swimming for the AHS swim team for the last three years making this her would-be fourth year on the team. She had hoped that this year would be the year that she could swim at NCS, a competition for swimmers from various leagues that swim with fast times.Unfortunately, COVID-19 has taken away that chance for her to try and qualify. 

 

Those who want to join NCS must meet a qualifying time and Benavidez has been training herself to meet those times. However every year, the qualifying times are lowered, making it harder for swimmers including Benavidez to qualify. Still, she deliberately practiced to get faster. “I just saw this as an opportunity to challenge myself to get even faster,” Benavidez said. 

 

Despite not being able to swim for AHS this year, Benavidez hopes to swim for Las Postitas in college and to even make their water polo team. In addition, because of how her high school career ended, Benavidez believes that it will make her treasure her college years more. “I don’t really know how to feel about all that’s happening and what we seniors will be missing out on. But on the bright side I see my college experience more special now [and when I graduate college] that will be my first actual graduation ceremony if we don’t have one at all,” Benavidez said. 

 

Senior Daniel Williams had been running for AHS’s track and field team since freshman year of high school and the cross country team since sophomore year. Williams spent vast amounts of time figuring out what track events he was good at. Starting freshman year, Williams did track events such as discus, shot put, and high jump. However, the following year he joined the cross country team which led him to take the 3200 meter race instead of high jump sophomore year of track. In junior year, the new track and field coach put Williams in sprinting events where he realized he was best at the 400 meter dash. 

 

Williams’ ultimate goal this year was to go to state for the 400 meter dash, however, the current pandemic has taken this opportunity away. Due to the current situation, Williams feels that many opportunities, “[a]academically, socially and very much so in the athletic sense”, were taken away from him this year. In addition, Williams felt that many high school experiences were robbed from him especially since it’s his last year.  “[P]rom, walking the stage, state, and all the possible memories I could've made has been completely taken away from the class of 2020.” Williams said.

 

For sports after high school, Williams plans to participate in intramural or club sports that are not in a division and he wants to focus on staying active. “Now that I’m out of high school I want to focus on more just keeping myself in shape rather than being competitive,” Williams said.