APTOS—The Covid-19 pandemic took another jab at local prep sports after Aptos High Athletics Director Travis Fox announced that all indoor activities, home and away, are postponed for the remainder of the week.
Fox said Wednesday afternoon that Mariners’ student-athletes will have to be sidelined due to Covid-19 testing issues.
“We have a couple of players who are in Covid health and safety protocols, but with the players we have remaining we just don’t have a positive result on them just yet,” he said. “With the high number of kids who have been testing on campus, out of an abundance of caution, we’re just going to postpone indoor sports.”
The decision affects boys and girls basketball, along with the wrestling program. Both soccer teams will remain in action, however, the Mariners’ girls soccer game scheduled for Thursday at San Lorenzo Valley has also been postponed.
According to Fox, he hasn’t received results from a test he took Monday at the school. He said testing is held on campus twice each week, Mondays and Thursdays, and done by Inspire Labs.
Inspire Labs handles testing for all Santa Cruz County schools and results are typically known within 24 hours.
Fox said he believes the company might be backlogged at the moment, causing the delayed results. He added that sometimes it could take up to five days to get results back
“They’re doing a great job, they test our kids here on campus but they haven’t been able to guarantee results back as quickly as they were before [the] recent omicron surge,” he said.
The Mariners’ boys and girls basketball teams were scheduled to play at Santa Cruz High on Wednesday night.
Fox said the coaches felt terrible about postponing the games, especially because the Cardinals’ girls basketball team had a fundraiser for Jacob’s Heart scheduled Wednesday night.
“But, like we said, out of the safety of our kids, their kids and the league as a whole, we just think it’s the safest thing at this point to postpone for the next few days so we can get a grasp on where we are,” he said.
Fox said that it’s the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s goal to have a complete season for all sports. He’s hoping that all postponed contests will be rescheduled and believes they will most likely play on Saturdays.
Fox said that the SCCAL canceled its league tournament for both soccer and basketball. They’re hoping to use that final week to make up any games postponed during the season.
The tournament doesn’t have an impact on the Central Coast Section postseason, which leaves room for league games that count for playoff points.
Monte Vista Chrisitan School Athletic Director Matt Coleman said they postponed 14 games in various sports and levels of competition this week due to health and safety concerns.
Pajaro Valley High Athletic Director Joe Manfre reported that both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are in quarantine, along with the wrestling program.
The Watsonville High boys’ and girls’ basketball teams also took the rest of the week off after having their league games postponed, according to athletic director Marcus Northcutt.
St. Francis High Athletic Director Adam Hazel said both boys’ and girls’ basketball games scheduled for Tuesday were postponed.
The girls’ team plans to host Gilroy in Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division action today at 7pm, and the boys’ team will travel to MVC for their PCAL Mission Division meeting on Friday at 7pm.
The Sharks’ boys’ soccer team is slated to play tomorrow against Trinity Christian School at Depot Park in Santa Cruz.
“Let’s hope we get to keep playing,” Hazel said in a text message.
