With season postponed, Jamestown track and field adjusts

With Jamestown High School closed through at least April 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic and all after school activities being canceled, the virus has made a big impact on the school's spring sports teams.

Until a concrete decision is made regarding whether to cancel athletics for the rest of the school year entirely, spring sports teams are taking measures to ensure athletes are ready in the event schools return to session.

Jamestown's track and field team has given its athletes workout drills they can do while at home to stay ready for when the season resumes. Michelle Sumner, the Jamestown track and field head coach, said the news of the season being delayed was not really a surprise to her, as she figured it was coming.

"No coach or athlete likes getting that kind of news, but if it keeps our kids safe then it's for the best," Sumner said.

She said she has been tied to track and field for 30 years as an athlete and a coach, and she has never seen anything like this before.

Sumner said while she thinks the delay will be disruptive to the team's season, she thinks the athletes will still work hard while they are at home.

"Our season stopped a week prior to our first meet, like it did for many other schools and sports. We weren't ready to peak at this point in the season, by any means, but we were off to a great start to our year," Sumner said. "To have our training interrupted is disheartening. I'm not just a coach - I have two of my own children on our team. My oldest son, Ian Sumner, is a senior and my daughter, Annabelle Sumner, is a freshman. They both have state-bound dreams. Our boys have the largest team, with a lot of potential, that we've had in Jamestown for several years."

Sumner said it's unfortunate something like this has derailed the beginning of the season, but coaches are continuing to keep hope alive that a return is on the horizon.

"My teams are taking this in stride they truly amaze me," Sumner said. "While this is disruptive to our season, I think most of our kids will still continue to push themselves just as hard, if not harder, while working on their own. I just told them yesterday in a team message, 'Our season isn't canceled yet.'"

Sumner said she told her athletes to make sure that they are getting in their workouts every day, because an athlete at another school surely is putting in the time on their own.

"No one wants to get waxed off the track when we can compete again," Sumner said. "I'd like to think that most of my kids will take that to heart. I have an ambitious group this year - they know what they have to do."

To help the athletes get their work done, Sumner said they sent out workouts the athletes can easily do at home. Working off the track is something that the team is used to.

"Some of my throwers have their own implements at home, so I know that they are practicing their form," Sumner said. "Jumping and hurdling events are a bit harder, but most of my kids have learned some drills that can help them keep from getting too far behind."

News of the postponement traveled around town fast, Sumner said. Sumner said that while disappointed, the team took the news about the season being delayed well.

"Jamestown is small, so news travels fast," Sumner said. "It wasn't so much that we had to tell them that season was delayed, but we did have to tell them that if school wasn't in session, then we wouldn't be able to practice or go to meets. That sucked, for lack of a better word, but our kids took the news really well. I think they were expecting it, too. It has been harder to send out notification after notification of track meets (being) canceled."

Sumner said teams and athletes across the state are in the same position Jamestown is, so it's nice they at least aren't alone.