Abbi Lafrenz was primed for a stellar senior year. A perennial performer at the state cross-country and track meets, her senior swan song was to be like none other.
Now, she and her fellow North Scott senior athletes are left to wonder “what if, what happened, and why us?”
When Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Friday that schools across the state would not reopen this school year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the shock waves not only reverberated in classrooms all over Iowa, but sent daggers to the heart of spring sports athletes everywhere.
Seasons that had been put on hold since mid-March, with hopes of starting up on May 1, were dashed before they even got out of the starting blocks by the governor’s announcement, and the tears flowed freely across the Lancer sports landscape.
“We have a texting group chat between the team captains, and Grace Sindt sent a chat that said, ‘No season,’” said Lafrenz. “Coach (Troy Matthaidess) then texted, ‘Yep, we can’t go back to school.’
“I broke down after that. It was hard to read that and tough to choke down those words. It was a raw deal. I was absolutely emotional, and I cried the entire day.”
In the blink of an eye, Lafrenz’ senior season was gone, and six years of hard work never came to total fruition.
“Like anything else, I got attached to the sport, and I put so much time into it,” she said. “My family is definitely sports-oriented, and the last six years of junior high and high school, running has been my favorite thing to do.
“I had a passion for it, and for me to know that I wasn’t going to get that closure of not getting to ever do it again, it broke my heart for sure. I understand it’s for everybody’s safety, but what hurts is not getting that closure of having the last hurrah, getting to go to Drake Stadium one more time.
“Heading into the season, I felt like I was promised that, and every senior should be able to get the chance to do that,” she continued. “The class of 2020 didn’t get that chance.”
Almost to a person, just like the players they were assigned to lead, Lancer coaches were bummed.
“I’m just very disappointed about the cancellation, even though we knew it was coming,” said boys’ soccer coach Troy Bendickson. “I called each senior on Friday, and it was great to hear their voices.
“They were all sad, but had tremendous attitudes. Several even spoke how they weren’t just sad for themselves, but for all the players, because everyone missed the season, which I thought was very selfless.”
Girls’ track coach Troy Matthaidess said that while the season was stopped for good, he was at least glad that his team was able to start practice and compete in indoor meets. However, it was a double-edged sword.
“The bigger picture is obviously the health and safety of our families and communities,” he said. “That said, it is still certainly a blow to not have school or our seasons.
“One good thing that at least the track teams have is that we got to start, work together, form relationships, and have a couple indoor meets. The other sports didn’t even get a chance to start.
“However, because we did start,” he continued, “we also saw the potential that was there from our team. Not to be able to see that come to fruition is tough.”
As one would expect, Matthaidess feels deeply for the seniors.
“I feel heartbroken for them,” he said, “but I also feel so badly for all the athletes that put in a ton of work to be ready to be their best, and now cannot showcase that.”
Reality sinks in
To be honest, most coaches expected the news, but that still doesn’t take away the sting of knowing they wouldn’t be putting their whistles around their neck and sending their charges into action.
“I forced myself to be positive through all of this, and I was still holding out hope we’d be back together again,” said boys’ track coach Joe Greenwood. “When reality hit, and the news broke, it hit me pretty hard. All of a sudden you realize it’s over for the year.”
“There is no coaching manual for this. In a way, it kind of feels like you’re dealing with the death of somebody. That’s what comes to mind. This is pretty far-reaching, and it affects a lot of people, and not just high school athletes.”
Despite the disappointment, Greenwood understands the decision.
“It was the right decision,” he said. “The alternatives were too risky.”
Girls’ tennis coach Heidi Wilmott was just as disappointed.
“I was just so sad to hear the news that we indeed would not be playing in May as I had hoped,” she said. “I had 70 ladies who signed up for tennis this year, including 10 seniors.
“I am so proud of how my seniors and a number of other ladies worked very hard in the off-season to prepare. My heart aches for them, but I also know their drive will pay off. My hope is that we can flatten the Corona virus curve so we can all get on the tennis court again soon.”
One of those seniors was Georgia Nissen, who filled the No. 1 singles spot the last three years, and who had a legitimate shot at qualifying for state. Her story is even more disappointing, as she broke her wrist toward the end of last season, and worked hard to be at full strength this year.
“I had a good run last season and was seeded really well going into regionals, and then broke my wrist,” she said. “I knew I could come back stronger, and I worked really hard in the off-season. I think I would’ve had a good chance to go to state.”
Nissen said the news of the season being cancelled came as a shock.
“At first, I didn’t think it was true,” she said. “I thought we’d still go back and I’d still have a season. It just didn’t seem real that I was losing my senior season. Later that night I talked to some friends over the phone, and it finally just hit me.
“I started talking to my mom, and we cried about it for a little bit. It’s hard. We really wanted to play.”
Senior-year redemption
Every athlete has high expectations, and senior Avery Woods was primed for a stellar senior season on the golf course, especially after a sub-par performance in last year’s post-season run.
“I did a lot of Junior PGA stuff over the summer, and I felt like I was going really strong,” she said. “I knew I was going to have a really strong year, and I was really excited to have such a large opportunity to make it to state.
“Last year I didn’t do so well, but I knew I had another year to compete and get that goal accomplished. Now I don’t get the chance.”
Sitting at the kitchen table with her mom, the news was hard to swallow.
“It was definitely really sad when we heard the news,” said Woods. “We were just kind of shocked they canceled it so early. We were hoping it would be a couple more weeks, and that they wouldn’t call it off right away.
“When they ended up doing it, it was devastating, because I hadn’t even gotten to begin my season. It was just really sad.”
She, as well as coach Frank Wood, thought the entire team was primed for a breakout campaign.
“Our coach kept texting us with updates, and I was really confident about the year,” said Woods. “I’d been texting some of the girls to get us to go out and practice, because we couldn’t talk to our coach.
“I think our team would have done really well. Natalie (Tague) was improving so much. Grace (Bjustrom) wasn’t able to be there a lot last year, but she’s just a naturally great golfer. I thought we had a really good chance to go to state as a team because we competed so well last year.”
Wood agreed.
“I really felt that we could have made a statement this year and place high in the conference and possibly qualify for state,” he said.
Woods, who will play golf at Central College, is trying to stay positive.
“I know the future holds a lot of better memories for me,” she said. “Everybody says that college is really fun. I’m trying to keep a positive mindset because I have all of that to look forward to, including the summer.”
Senior seasons dashed
This was supposed to be Cidney Hoerner’s year. After making the varsity girls’ soccer team a year ago, but not seeing much action, she was determined to wrap up her senior year in style.
She’s been playing soccer for as long as she can remember, and vividly recalls her older sister playing for coach Dion Ayers. She remembers how much fun her sister had, and she longed to be part of the Lancer family.
“I played the last three years, and it was so much fun,” she said. “I was always looking forward to it, and this year I knew it was my last year, and I was going to make it the best year that I could.
“All year long, even in the summer and fall, and a little bit this spring, I focused mainly on soccer. Our scrimmages and any of our workouts we were able to go to, I tried to attend as many as I possibly could. I really thought I had a chance to contribute this season.”
In the blink of an eye that dream was taken away last Friday.
“One of my teachers texted me, and then all of a sudden my sister called me,” said Hoerner. “I was like, ‘Holy moley!’ I broke down in tears because I knew my senior year was something I would never be able to get back, and it was done.”
“I’m just sad I won’t be able to play with all of my teammates ever again.”
For teammate Sophie Hughes, the news was even more devastating, in light of the fact she tore her ACL midway through the season a year ago, and worked hard in rehab to be ready for her senior campaign.
“I was pretty upset when I first heard the season had been canceled,” she said. “I think we were all kind of anticipating it, but it really sucked to hear it and have it clarified. I was really hoping that they were doing to push it back into summer.
“It was really upsetting. The team worked hard in the off-season, and I’d been working super hard to get all my strength back to be able to play this year. I was really hoping to come back and finish off my school year with a good season. Now, I feel like I worked really hard and none of us really got what we wanted.”
The Lancer girls had high hopes, and coach Dion Ayers expected them to be a top 10 team when the Class 2A rankings came out. With the season canceled before the first practice, that statewide recognition never came.
“We were going to be good,” he said. “What I liked about it is that we had some nice youth coming in to mix with some of our upperclassmen, and our upperclassmen were going to be in some important positions on the backside on defense.
“We were going to have some speed in our midfield and forwards, and we haven’t had that in a long time. I was anxious to see the blend between our youth and our older kids.”
Ayers feels for all the players on the team, but especially for girls like Hughes, who was coming off an injury, and Hoerner, who had put in her time.
“Sophie was going to be a starter at left defender,” said Ayers, “and Cidney, who came to everything in the off-season, would have seen some valuable minutes. She’s been one who’s been in our program for everything, and came to every one of our open gyms we held in the winter.
“I think she was excited for her chance as a senior to step on the field and do some good things.”
The Lancer defense would have been stellar, anchored by seniors Adriane Latham, Jordan Neymeyer and Paige Blaskovich, with keeper Teagan Goodney most likely standing between the pipes.
“I think this team could have qualified for state,” said Ayers. “It’s unbelievable how it all went down. I think I always knew that the season was going to get canceled, but until it does, it’s not real. When I heard the news, it was just a gut-check.”
Ayers feels for the seniors on his team, but is also concerned about the future.
“The last time we had contact with our players was last summer,” he said. “Realistically, I don’t see us having any camps this summer, so that means I won’t have any contact with my team until next spring.
“That’s crazy. These programs are built on relationships, and two years is a long time for no contact. I just hope that they can think of a way, maybe in the fall, that they give us some contact days so we can build some of those relationships.”
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There will be no Senior Nights for these North Scott athletes as they had their high school athletic careers cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
Boys’ Soccer
Ben Crawford, Ben Evitts, Ethan Fairfield, Thade Gottschalk, Cody Prichard.
Boys’ Track
Trent Allard, Quentin Allison, Ben Belken, Jake Blowers, Garrett Bowe, Bryce Golden, Jack Kilburg, Luke Kroeger, Ryan Mentzer, Chris Tague.
Boys’ Tennis
Garret Blake, Derick Cudd, Blake Elgin, Nathan Hoft, Cody Johnson, Carter Schmidt, Seth Schrock, Carter Wenck.
Girls’ Golf
Avery Woods, Grace Bjustrom, Bryanna Schmidt.
Girls’ Tennis
Danielle Wheeler, Emma Powell, Georgia Nissen, Halle Nelson, Kelli Little, Kendall McNaull, Kira Beadle, Molly Burgmeier, Morgan, Abbott, Olivia McDermott.
Girls’ Track
Khloe Beitzel, Camryn Hanson, Tarynn Kuehl, Brooke Kruse, Abbi Lafrenz, Abby Tschopp.
Girls’ Soccer
Adriane Latham, Cidney Hoerner, Teagan Goodney, Chloe Engelbrecht, Sophie Hughes, Chloe Brabant, Paige Blaskovich, Sidney Bahns, Jordan Neymeyer, Lauren Hanssen, Malainie Ewoldt.