Winter Sports

Under the guidance of assistant coach Dick Kloppel, senior Chloe Pace takes a shot as the girls varsity basketball team practiced in the fieldhouse on Dec. 22. Kloppel is a former CMR principal who also coached state-winning basketball teams during his tenure at Great Falls HIgh School. Photo by Beth Britton.

WINTER SPORTS

by Justin Bollich, Staff Writer IN THE AGE OF COVID-19 Coach Aaron Jensen, like everyone “There’s a lot of protocols, else in the school district, didn’t making sure that, you know, kids expect all of the new challenges don’t come in with any symptoms, from COVID-19 this year. But he that we’re masking up, that we’re and the wrestling team are getting keeping the place sanitized,” Jensen through it. said. “You just gotta know day-to Practice for wrestling started on day if somebody gets contact traced Dec. 7, and the season started Jan. from school, something like that, 8. they gotta be out for two weeks.” “[The season will be] about three Girls basketball coach Brian months, something like that, a Crosby is also facing challenges lot more practice time than we from Covid for his team. normally have,” Jensen said, adding “We [had] two girls that [were] that the state tournament is set for contact traced. So they’re gonna March 5-6. Parents of longtime wrestlers aren’t super concerned, but students and parents joining for the miss how many days of practice,” he said. “That’s a challenge to kind of keep everyone on the same page -- keeping people healthy.” During the Jan. 8 competition against Billings Senior, JV wrestler Luke Leinhauser takes on his opponent. Photo by Amber Kegel/Russellog staff. first time may be worried. Like in wrestling, the basketball “We have had conversations with season has been shortened. kids that are trying to get out for “They’re only going to do our 14 the team that have never wrestled conference games, so normally we and the parents are concerned,” play 18 and then have our divisional Jensen said. “You know, wrestling tournaments, so we lost four games being such a close contact sport, we so far,” Crosby said. “We’re going to just try to educate them that we’re do everything in our power to play; absolutely as safe as possible.” if we have to move kids around we’ll Jensen and the rest of the team do it. Our hope is to get through the are doing everything they can to season.” keep contact to a minimum. While all of these changes can be “We put them in pods with coaches, a challenge, Jensen said he doesn’t he said. “We coach specific kids and really have a problem with them. they don’t change partners. That’s “It’s challenging, but at the end The Rustler and Bison swimmers prepare to take the best we can do, and then we of the day these kids can have on their competition virtually during the first meet of just talk to them about making sure a wrestling season, we can get the season on Jan. 8 at the Great Falls High School that they are safe” all of our athletics in, and all of pool. Photo by Izzi Rukavina. While the wrestling team is our activities in,” Jensen said. “I managing Covid the best they can, think the positives outweigh the some of the biggest problems with negatives. It’s just good for these having wrestling during a time kids to have some sense of normalcy like this are things that can’t be here at CMR, and activities play a controlled. big role in that.”