McAlester News-Capital 2020 OPA Awards Sports 03142020

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Saturday

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CANCELED

March 14, 2020

McAlester schools cancel spring break extra curricular activities

By DEREK HATRIDGE SPORTS EDITOR

Staff file photo

LADY MOUNTAINEER SOFTBALL and Mountaineer baseball have been notified to suspend play after a decision by the NJCAA on Friday afternoon.

NJCAA shuts down Eastern spring athletics in March

By DEREK HATRIDGE SPORTS EDITOR

their preparation.”

The NJCAA said it will reassess the rapidly-changing conditions on April 3, and make a decision regarding whether to continue with athletic competition for the remainder of the season.

It is also extending hardships to 60 percent, meaning that if seasons are canceled before a student-athlete has completed 60 percent of the season, the NJCAA will not charge a year of eligibility for the 20202021 season.

Parker said he and the Eastern administration are keeping a close eye on the situation, and will be ready to follow any procedures that are necessary.

“We’re going to wait and take our directive from the NJCAA, State of Oklahoma, the health department, and our administration,” Parker said.

As for the athletic teams, they’ll continue to work and practice. Parker said that although things may seem a little uncertain now, Eastern athletics will be ready if they’re given the green light to resume play.

“We’ll trust that they signed up to work and they’ll do it on their own, and when they show back up that they’ll be ready to do what they can,” Parker said. “Let’s be the best team that’s taken a break and come back.”

The National Junior College Athletic Association has announced that it is suspending all competition through March in a release on Friday afternoon.

“After reviewing and evaluating all of the feedback and information from our membership and regional leadership, the NJCAA is suspending all competition beginning Saturday, March 14 through Friday, April 3.”

This suspension includes Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton.

Mountaineer athletic director and baseball coach Matt Parker said he knew that the suspension could be a possibility.

“We’ve talked about it every day since Wednesday,” Parker said.

The NJCAA has allowed each individual college to mandate whether to continue to hold practices or not.

The Mountaineers and Lady Mountaineers are set for spring break next week, but will get right back to work when they return to Wilburton on March 22.

As a coach, Parker said that it is important for his team to stay sharp and conditioned despite the suspension in play.

“Whether or not we play another game (this season), our job is to get better,” Parker said. “Regardless of what happens moving for- • Contact Derek Hatridge at ward, it shouldn’t effect dhatridge@mcalesternews.com

McAlester Public Schools have decided to cancel activities during spring break in response to novel coronavirus concerns. The school released a statement on the decision early Friday afternoon.

“McAlester Public Schools, effective immediately, all extracurricular activities are canceled beginning tomorrow, Saturday, March 14 through Sunday, March 22, 2020,” the statement said. “This includes any and all games, practices, and scrimmages. The District will continue to monitor and reevaluate as next week progresses.”

McAlester athletic director John Homer said the move came after school administration received an update from State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister.

“She gave all the ins and outs,” Homer said. “We sat down as an administration and decided we’re going to shut it down for the week.”

Homer said that because of the upcoming spring break and all the travel that would be involved, McAlester officials thought that taking a breather would be the best path forward

DEREK HATRIDGE | Staff photo

MCALESTER ATHLETIC DIRECTOR John Homer speaks during an event earlier this month. Homer and the McAlester administration made the decision to cancel extra curricular activities during the upcoming break.

and allow for new and updated information to develop.

“This was the safe thing to do with people traveling. We just said that to stay on the safe side, we’re going to shut it down,” Homer said. “We’ll look and see how everything has progressed and make a decision to go forward.”

Homer said that he and the administration stand by their decision. They will receive another update from Hofmeister at the end of next week, and will assess the situation before

making a decision on how to proceed when students are set to return to the classroom.

“It’s all precautionary. It’s for the safety of our kids. Whenever we’ve canceled, we’ve never lost a kid,” Homer said. “When kids are involved…their safety comes first. I know some of them are going to be disappointed.

“It was the right thing to do.”

• Contact Derek Hatridge at dhatridge@mcalesternews.com

OU’s Castiglione shares ‘incredible sense of disappointment’ with athletes

By TYLER PALMATEER CNHI SPORTS OKLAHOMA

On a scratchy telephone line with roughly a dozen reporters on the other end of it, following a day of hours-long meetings, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione asked for understanding with regard to the uncertainties.

“These are unprecedented times,” he said.

Castiglione did his best to answer the questions in front of him, putting health first, while empathizing with those affected by the NCAA’s decision to cancel its remaining winter and spring championships in the wake of coronavirus pandemic KYLE PHILLIPS | CNHI photo concerns.

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA athletic director Joe Castiglione shows how It left much to consider. staff will use a Biometrix finger reader to get into the building at Oklahoma >> See CASTIGLIONE // Page B2 Memorial Stadium.

IF THE HAT FITS

T

The importance of a game in a world without sports

hey say it’s just a game.

Yeah, it is. But it’s also so much more than that.

The professional and collegiate sports worlds have come to a full stop as the novel coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, has spread rapidly across the United States and the globe.

We are currently in a very tough fight to combat this outbreak, and one that we must fight together.

Oklahoma City was ground zero as the NBA had its first confirmed cases and suspended the season. The MLB, NHL, XFL, NCAA, NASCAR, PGA, and MLS have all followed suit by either suspending their seasons, taking a hiatus, or canceling events altogether.

This is unprecedented. The last time the sports world came to a halt similar to this?

World War II, and even then,

Derek Hatridge SPORTS EDITOR

the show still went on in some form or fashion. (Think Dottie Hinson.)

But this hasn’t just affected fans and athletes at the national level, but here at home as well. After the Jazz-Thunder saga that shut down the NBA and pushed the first domino, the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association postponed the Class 2-6A state basketball tourna-

ments, as well as all other OSSAA events this week.

The OSSAA left canceling regular season games and events up to the individual schools, and some have done so while others are awaiting guidance from the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

Unprecedented seems like too small of a word. This is a viral outbreak the likes that we haven’t truly seen in quite some time. Organizations at all levels are weighing options and erring on the side of caution.

But that brings me back to the game. Whatever you play— basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track, golf, etc.—it’s the game that changes lives forever.

Professional and collegiate sports are great. They supply role models and memorable moments. I’m a huge fan my-

self. But the high school level is something different entirely.

The NCAA likes to use the tagline that their student-athletes graduate to a career other than sports. But in high school, student-athletes become something else: their best selves.

Most athletes in high school will not play competitive sports after graduation. Some will go to college and get a degree, while others will move immediately to the work force.

All of those former athletes will become adults, and long for those days in the sun or under the lights.

Because it was there that they discovered hard work, ethics, teamwork, leadership, and self-sacrifice. It was sports that taught that young player that you can push yourself. That you can lose and lose, but it makes the vic-

tory that much more special.

I myself discovered who I could be on the hardwood in a high school gymnasium in 2007 when I changed my jersey number to 10. I had lost my friend that previous summer and it was his number, but the power of the game showed me how to conquer pain and keep moving forward despite the trials of life.

It taught me that the little things make the biggest difference. That’s a lesson I will never forget.

So when we continue to see these games being played, at any level, it reminds us of those lessons we learned all those years ago. That’s why when the sports world stopped, things felt vastly empty.

So, yeah. It’s just a game.

But it’s so much more than that.

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SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020 • MCALESTERNEWS.COM

scoreboard TV SPORTSWATCH All times Eastern Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts Saturday, March 14 AUTO RACING 10 a.m.

FS1 — NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Qualifying, Atlanta 11 a.m.

FS1 — NASCAR Xfinity Series: Qualifying, Atlanta 12 p.m.

FS1 — NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying, Atlanta

1:30 p.m.

FS1 — NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: The Georgia 200, Atlanta 4 p.m.

FS1 — NASCAR Xfinity Series: The Atlanta 250, Atlanta 7 p.m.

NBCSN — Monster Energy AMA Supercross: Round 11, Indianapolis 8 p.m.

FS2 — NHRA: Qualifying, Gainesville, Fla. 9 p.m.

FS2 — NHRA: Qualifying, Gainesville, Fla. 10 p.m.

Castiglione ...

<< CONTINUED from Page B1 Gymnastics superstar Maggie Nichols won’t compete for the Sooners at the NCAA championships this season.

OU softball won’t make its regular trip to the Women’s College World Series.

OU baseball, a top-10 team in some polls, will not have a chance at Omaha.

The OU men’s basketball team never made it to tipoff in the Big 12 tournament before its cancellation, and was expected to play in the NCAA Tournament next week.

There are no trophies left to chase.

“I share that incredible sense of disappointment with them,” Castiglione said of the athletes and coaches involved. “It probably hasn’t all set in yet.”

Coronavirus, or COVID-19, causes flu-like symptoms such as high fever or coughing. Most people recover from the virus, but older adults or those with pre-existing conditions can be affected severely. At 9:30 p.m. Thursday, the World Health Organization had reported 4,614 deaths from the virus worldwide.

Practically in sync with the NCAA’s decision to scrap its championships, the Big 12 suspended all regular-season competitions and on- and off-campus recruiting until March 29.

A little more than two hours later, OU indefinitely suspended “all athletic competitions, including out-of-season practices, until further notice.” That includes an off- and on-campus recruiting suspension that kept Edmond linebacker Collin Oliver’s from visiting the Sooners on Thursday.

OU’s football team won’t practice until the suspension is lifted. The program has been trying to attract a large crowd for its spring game, which remains scheduled for April 18. Canceling it remains a possibility, Castiglione said.

College blue bloods Michigan and Ohio State canceled their spring games.

“What we’re trying to do is work through these time segments,” Castiglione said. “We definitely understand things could change, but [April 18 is] more than a month away and I think a decision about the spring game isn’t as important right now as making prudent decisions in other cases. For some, they might disagree, but we’re trying to take them in the right order here.

“If we’re going to continually delay the continuation of spring practice, then obviously we need to quickly decide whether we change the date of the spring game or eliminate it all together.”

Castiglione acknowledged that while some schools have canceled entire seasons, OU’s preference is to react in increments and indulge in few hypothetical scenarios publicly.

He seemed puzzled by the NCAA’s decision to call off championships that will occur in May and June.

“We’re not altogether sure why championships that wouldn’t occur until much later in the spring or early summer were canceled now,” he said. “I say that completely recognizing that those involved in making that decision had information that we don’t have in front of us right at this moment.”

The Transcript was denied multiple requests to speak with select OU athletes and coaches affected by the decision. OU spokespeople could not give an immediate timetable for media access to athletes.

Some athletes reacted on social media. Kristian Doolittle, the lone OU men’s basketball senior, posted to Twitter: “Wild to think it’s over this way.. but these past 4 years have been all I could dream of and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to represent my school and state to the best of my ability!! Thank you for all of the support!!”

Nichols, an internationally renowned gymnast, simply tweeted “Heartbreaking” in one of her first posts after the news.

One question the NCAA must tackle moving forward is whether athletes deserve restitution in the form of eligibility or redshirt seasons.

Castiglione said that topic was discussed in athletic director meetings Thursday while he was in Kansas City.

“I would like to see us look seriously at providing an additional year of eligibility for student-athletes who have lost the opportunity to compete,” he said. “Certainly that starts with the student-athletes in their final year of eligibility. There’s not another way to get it back. I don’t know how many student-athletes would come back and compete if they had an additional year of eligibility. That’s all speculative. But it’s certainly something we’re going to continue to discuss. There may be some other legislative changes or modifications that might have to be made as we further get into making other decisions.”

NBCSN — IndyCar: Qualifying, St. Petersburg, Fla. (taped) 1 a.m. (Sunday) FS2 — NHRA: Qualifying, Gainesville, Fla. CYCLING 2 a.m.

NBCSN — UCI: The Paris-Nice, Stage 6, 97 miles, Sorgues - Apt, France (taped) 2 a.m. (Sunday) NBCSN — UCI: The Paris-Nice, Stage 7, 102 miles, Nice - Valdeblore La Colmiane, France (taped) RUGBY 12 p.m.

NBC — Six Nations: Wales vs. Scotland, Round 5, Cardiff, Wales (taped) --Sunday, March 15 AUTO RACING 2 p.m.

FOX — NASCAR Cup Series: The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, Atlanta 3:30 p.m.

NBCSN — IndyCar: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla. 9:30 p.m.

F S 1 — N H R A : Th e A M A L I E M o to r O i l N H R A Gatornationals, Gainesville, Fla. (taped)

BOWLING 1:30 p.m.

FS1 — PBA: The WSOB XI Cheetah Championship, Las Vegas CYCLING 2 a.m.

NBCSN — UCI: The Paris-Nice, Stage 7, 102 miles, Nice - Valdeblore La Colmiane, France (taped) 2 a.m. (Monday) NBCSN — UCI: The Paris-Nice, Final Stage, 70 miles, Nice, France (taped) GYMNASTICS 11 p.m.

NBCSN — FIG World Cup: Apparatus Finals, Baku, Azerbaijan (taped) RODEO 6 p.m.

CBSSN — PBR: The Gwinnett Invitational, Duluth, Ga. (taped) SKIING 1 a.m. (Monday) NBCSN — FIS Alpine World Cup: Men’s Slalom, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia (taped)

NCAA agrees eligibility relief ‘appropriate’ for Division-I athletes in spring sports

By TYLER PALMATEER CNHI SPORTS OKLAOMA

Brandon Zaragoza, a Westmoore product and senior on Oklahoma’s baseball team, won’t have a chance to compete for a trip to the College World Series this season due to the NCAA’s cancellation of its spring championships.

But should he choose to, Zaragoza and other athletes of all classes in spring sports, might still be able to gain additional eligibility after their seasons ended because of the spreading coronavirus.

T h e N CA A D i v i s i o n I Council Coordination Committee agreed that “eligibility is appropriate for all Division-I student-athletes who participated in spring sports.”

Details will be released at a later time, the NCAA said, about what relief will be provided.

According to Yahoo sports writer Pete Thamel, “the committee will also discuss

KYLE PHILLIPS | CNHI Photo

OU’S BRYLIE WARE (12), Conor McKenna (5) and Brandon Zaragoza, right, meet in the infield during the Sooners’ game against TCU Wednesday Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. TCU scored 14 runs in the fourth inning and won 15-3.

issues related to seasons of competition for winter sport student-athletes who were unable to participate in conference and NCAA championships.” What that means specifically for OU athletes like Kristian Doolittle and Maggie Nichols — who were both expected to compete in winter championships — is

unclear.

These are the type of questions to arise since Thursday when the NCAA canceled all winter and spring sports championships due to coronavirus concerns.

OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said he is in favor of granting restitution

for athletes affected by the NCAA’s cancellations. The list of Sooners affected is as long as other schools. The OU softball team regularly advances to the Women’s College World Series each June, and the OU men’s golf team is enjoying another strong year.

“I would like to see us look seriously at providing an additional year of eligibility for student-athletes who have lost the opportunity to compete,” Castiglione said.

“Certainly that starts with the student-athletes in their final year of eligibility.

There’s not another way to get it back. I don’t know how many student-athletes would come back and compete if they had an additional year of eligibility. That’s all speculative. But it’s certainly something we’re going to continue to discuss.

There may be some other legislative changes or modifications that might have to be made as we further get into making other decisions.”

Ted Cox, ex-Red Sox with hits in 1st 6 at-bats, dies at 65 ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIDWEST CITY — Ted Cox, the first major league player with hits in his first six atbats, has died. He was 65.

Cox died Wednesday, according to the Barnes Friederich Funeral Home in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Cox was born in Oklahoma City, played at Midwest City High School and was selected by Boston with the 17th overall pick of the 1973 amateur draft.

He made his major league debut for the Red Sox on

Sept. 18, 1977, at Baltimore and singled twice and walked off Mike Flanagan, then singled and doubled against Scott McGregor. The next day at Fenway Park, he singled twice off the New York Yankees’ Ed Figueroa to break the record set by Cecil Travis of the 1933 Washington Senators. Cox grounded out against Figueroa in the fifth inning.

He hit .362 in 13 games, then was traded to Cleveland in the offseason with catcher Bo Diaz and right-

handers Mike Paxton and Rick Wise for right-hander Dennis Eckersley and catcher Fred Kendall.

He spent five seasons in the major leagues with Boston (1977), Cleveland (197879), Seattle (1980) and Toronto (1981). Cox hit .245 with 10 homers and 79 RBIs in 771 at-bats over 272 games.

Cox also had the first game-winning RBI in American League history, a tiebreaking, two-run double off Dave Lemanczyk in the first

inning that put Seattle ahead 4-2 in an 8-4 win over Toronto on April 9, 1980.

Game-winning RBI was an official statistic from 198088.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Debbie; mother, Ernestine; sons Joey and Billy Cox; grandsons Carter and Cole; sister Luana Albright and half sister Sydney Gard.

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday at Barnes Friederich Funeral Home Chapel.

Semenya switches to 200, still aiming to turn up in Tokyo

By GERALD IMRAY AP SPORTS WRITER

Caster Semenya won’t go away.

Banned from competing in her favorite race and defending her title, the Olympic 800-meter champion is aiming to show up at the Tokyo Games anyway — by switching to the 200 meters.

Semenya announced her decision to officially change events to the 200 on her Instagram account on Friday, saying her desire “to compete at the highest level of sport” drove her to try and qualify for the Olympics in a race she’s unfamiliar with.

“This decision has not been an easy one but, as always, I look forward to the challenge and will work hard, doing all I can to qualify for Tokyo and compete to the best of my ability for South Africa,” she said.

Under the world track and field body’s highly criticized testosterone regulations, Semenya and other female athletes with high natural testosterone are barred from races from 400 meters to one mile at top-level meets like the Olympics and world championships unless they undergo treatment to reduce their hormone levels for six months prior to running.

Semenya has refused to do so, calling the rules and the medical intervention required unfair and unethical.

Athletes are given three choices to lower their testosterone: Birth control pills, hormone-blocking injections or surgery.

But the regulations don’t apply to the 200 meters and that gives Semenya a chance to run at her third Olympics, even if it’s not in the race she wants to run in.

JEFF CHIU | AP File Photo

OLYMPIC CHAMPION Caster Semenya has run her first public race in eight months and says she will be back in top-level track despite currently being banned from competing in her favorite event.

It won’t be easy.

Semenya has rarely run the 200 meters, and only at lower-level events. She didn’t compete at all over the distance between 2016 and early 2019 and she is well off the pace of the world’s leading women.

The 29-year-old South African needs to improve her personal best by nearly two seconds just to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Her best is 24.26 seconds, in South Africa in February 2019. The Olympic qualifying standard for the women’s 200 is 22.80 seconds.

Semenya’s PB wouldn’t have got her out of the heats at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

But at least Semenya has a goal now after being in limbo for nearly a year after she failed in an appeal against World Athletics’ testosterone regulations at the Court of Arbitration for

Sport last May. That left Semenya with a choice: Submit to medical treatment to lower her testosterone or stay away from the 800 meters. Defiant, she chose to stay away and hasn’t run an 800-meter race since winning at the Prefontaine Classic in June last year, her 31st straight victory over two laps. She wasn’t able to defend her title at last year’s world championships.

Semenya’s decision to try out the 200 may signal she’s given up on her second legal challenge against the regulations. That second appeal is still being considered by the Swiss Federal Tribunal and a ruling is due in coming weeks. She lost her first appeal at CAS last year by a 2-1 majority of the panel of judges.

A favorable decision from the Swiss supreme court could still overturn the tes-

tosterone rules and allow Semenya to compete in the 800 again without hormone-reducing treatment, but her chances of winning the appeal are seen as slim.

World Athletics’ new testosterone rules apply to female athletes like Semenya with conditions known as differences of sex developments (DSDs). Semenya was born with the typical male XY chromosome pattern but also female traits.

She was legally identified as female at birth and has been identified as female her entire life, but World Athletics says she is “biologically male” — an assertion she has rejected angrily.

World Athletics says higher testosterone gives women like Semenya an unfair athletic advantage.

Semenya’s story has been one of the most contentious in sport ever since she arrived as an unknown teenager and won gold at the 2009 world championships amid a gender-test storm.

She has won two Olympic titles and three world titles in the 800 meters and is the reigning Olympic champion but has now been barred from running twice in her career. The first time she was sidelined by World Athletics, then known as the IAAF, was in 2009 in the wake of the gender controversy at the world championships.

Semenya hinted she might switch to the 200 when she won a rarely-run 300-meter race and broke the South African record last month, her first race over any distance in eight months.

After that victory, she declared: “I’m here to stay.

Track and field, you will still see my face.”