What to do? There’s really no clean way to go about it. Whether we’re talking about wrestling, swimming and diving, basketball or indoor track, the immediate future of the early postseason is still in limbo.
All of the districts across the area had planned to get in their wrestling championships in over the weekend but that obviously did not happen. With regional tournaments slated for this weekend, all potential district championships in those sports would have to be done by Wednesday, but with all schools in Central Virginia closed today, and the threat of more snow coming tonight and tomorrow, the odds are getting worse that any of these championships will take place. The window is getting tight. The Group A/AA championship is booked at the Salem Civic Center for February 19th and 20th. The Group AAA championship is scheduled for the same days in Fairfax at James Robinson Secondary School.
In swimming and diving, the Jefferson District championship was moved from Saturday, to Monday, to today and now finally Thursday. The Region II championship is scheduled to start on Friday presenting a major dilemma. In the Commonwealth District, the championship was moved ahead and avoided the potential log jam. The Northwest Region championship is intended to take place on February 15th. The Group A/AA championship is booked for February 19th with the Group AAA championship to take place the day after at the Bayside Recreational Center in Virginia Beach.
There is a little more room to work with in hoops. Most district basketball tournaments were scheduled to start this week but a number of regular seasons have yet to be finished. Some, like the Dogwood District, have already declared a regular season champion and moved on to getting through its tournament. According to the VHSL, the deadline to finish all district tournaments in both girls and boys basketball is February 20th. Regional tournaments must be completed seven days later.
Many indoor track championships were supposed to take place this week, and can be postponed into next week with all regional contests scheduled to be completed by February 20th at the latest. The Group AAA championship is scheduled for February 27th at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. The Group AA championship is slated to take place the following day at Liberty Universty.
The postseason for the winter sports in the private sector isn’t quite in the same predicament as their public counterparts, but there’s still a lot that could happen. The VIC championship in wrestling is still scheduled for February 13th with the VISAA championships following six days after. Without regional tournaments to worry about, the private schools have an extra week to play with.
But some conference tournaments like the LIS tourney in girls basketball have already been moved around. Those tournaments were supposed to begin this week and have been pushed back one week. In boys basketball the Virginia Prep League tournament is still scheduled to begin on February 15th. The VIC tournament has plenty of room to work with. It isn’t supposed to begin until February 27th.
The bottom line for all of the winter sports is that you can’t miss over three weeks worth of contests without having a total mess on your hands, and that’s exactly what has happened this year. There are winners and losers in all of these scheduling maneuvers, but in the long run, its the seniors across the area who, barring any state championship runs that few may embark on, will likely remember this season for the constant juggling of events as much as the actual events themselves.
Everyone thought last spring was a nightmare, and it was. Could this get worse?
Athlete of the Week
Girls athlete of the week: Albemarle’s Holly Harper. Harper made it all the way to the Group AAA championship last year as an individual, but at Commonwealth District championship on Thursday, she did her best to make sure that she and her teammates stick together for another week. The Patriot swimmer took second in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 butterfly to help guide her team to a second place finish and a berth in the Northwest Region championship coming up on Monday.
Boys athlete of the week: Fluvanna County’s David Harlow. Harlow’s improvement at the heavyweight spot for the Fluvanna wrestling team helped net the Flucos a 6-0 record in regular season district play. He enters the JD tournament as the second seed at 285 pounds.
Boys Top Five
1. Blue Ridge (15-3) — Barons beat Mercersburg Academy last Thursday and are set to take on STAB tomorrow. Weather permitting.
2. Madison County (18-0) — The Mountaineers last played January 30. When they do get back on the floor, can they shake off the rust and keep things going?
3. Miller (8-5) — They beat St. Anne’s-Belfield last week in their only game. Expect the Mavericks to close out the season strong.
4. Albemarle (13-5) — Albemarle made the most of one chance last week, knocking district frontrunner Stafford at home. That win could earn the Patriots a home district tournament game.
5 t. Charlottesville (10-6) — They haven’t played in February yet, but the Black Knights still control their fate in the Jefferson District race. Whenver that starts back up again.
5t. Western Albemarle (15-5) — The Warriors need a little help from a Charlottesville opponent to get a share of the JD title, but they’ve still got a chance if the games get played.
Lurking — Buckingham (14-3), Fluvanna (11-7), Covenant (12-4)
Girls Top Five
1. Fluvanna County (17-1) — Like most schools in the area Fluvanna squeezed in just one game last week — a 24-point victory over Monticello.
2. Miller (8-4) — An idle week for the Mavericks. It’s their third of the season.
3. St. Anne’s-Belfield (9-5) — The Saints fell for the second time this season to Collegiate, this time, by three points on the road.
4. Western Albemarle (14-5) — The Warriors are in good shape as they cememented at least a second place finish for the regular season with a win over Orange last week.
5. Orange County (11-8) — The Hornets are now in a hunt with the Greene Dragons for third place in the JD. The difference between third and fourth right now is to possibly line up against Western instead of Fluvanna in the semifinals of the JD tourney.
Lurking — William Monroe (10-10) and Covenant (7-7)
