TD Schools Evaluating Pause on High School Athletics Monday, Jan. 24
TDHS Riverhawk Sports Notes by Billy Brost
By Billy Brost
Happy Sunday to everyone! I hope that over the past week, our student-athletes, their families, and our D21 staff and colleagues have avoided getting sick, or are recovering quickly after a surge that caused our athletic programs throughout the community to pause activities, games and practices until we can push through to brighter and healthier days.
District leadership is scheduled to meet first thing Monday morning to evaluate and discuss the current pause on athletics and activities, with the hope of making a decision one way or the other by early afternoon, Monday. Once a decision is made, we will be posting updates.
The Week That Was:
All TDHS athletic programs were placed into a brief pause this past week. I know there were several questions as to why certain programs were paused later in the week than others, and allow me to answer that for you.
TDHS Athletic Director Billy Brost
Our surge in positive cases hit specific programs earlier in the week, while others were untouched when the decision to pause was made. After careful consideration, we believed the best route for the pause, was to allow individual sports (i.e. swimming, skiing, and wrestling) to continue with the understanding that if a positive case arose, that program would then go into pause status along with the teams that were already affected.
By the end of the week, only the ski team remained out of pause status and competed on Saturday at Mt. Hood Meadows in the Giant Slalom. Results are as follows:
Grey Roetcisoender paced the Riverhawks’ boys with an 8th place finish, posting a time of 1:57.23. Bucky Wilkonson placed 12th (2:03.77), Henry Perez finished 14th (2:04.67), and Joe Codding placed 16th (2:06.18).
For the Riverhawks’ ladies, Lucy Booth led the way with a 5th place finish by posting a time of 1:57.79, Ella Smith came in 11th (2:03.25), Ashley Quisenberry took 15th (2:17.65), and Fiona Dunlop placed 22nd (2:30.34).
Special thanks to Mrs. Booth and Mrs. Quisenberry for the results and photos!
The Week Ahead:
-As previously stated, the status of athletics outside of skiing will be discussed Monday morning, with an announcement on the status of the pause expected early Monday afternoon. Please check the various Riverhawks’ social media platforms as well as your email, as AD Brost will send out an update once an updated decision has been made.
The girls’ basketball games scheduled for Monday night vs. Hood River, have been postponed and will be rescheduled to an open date for both programs before the end of the season. Updates to the schedule and calendar will be made once a make-up date has been chosen.
The Dennis Radford Triad, postponed for a second time, is now rescheduled for Wednesday, February 2nd at Kurtz Gym. Pendleton and Hood River Valley have committed to coming to compete, while Ridgeview had to decline. Weigh-ins begin at 3:30 p.m., while matches start at 5:15 p.m. The Riverhawks will dual both HRV and Pendleton, while the girls’ team will also wrestle.
Boys’ and girls’ basketball are postponed with Ridgeview on Thursday and Friday, respectively. We are currently working with Ridgeview to possibly host a six-pack of games (both boys and girls) in The Dalles this coming Friday, January 28th. Times will be posted once games are confirmed.
The girls’ wrestling team is set to travel to Hood River for a girls’ dual on Saturday. Weigh-ins and times will be updated this week.
The swim team is scheduled to head to Redmond on Saturday for an afternoon meet. We are getting very close to the postseason, and this will be a good IMC test for our Riverhawks. Meet details will be posted once they are finalized.
Odds and Ends:
In an attempt to draw more fans to our games, and to eliminate possible exposures between fans, volunteers, team and athletic department personnel, we are not going to be charging admission fees for entrance into varsity games at this time. It is important to continue to support our student-athletes, and keep our winter season heading towards a proper conclusion. Come on out and support Riverhawks’ athletics!
Please remain patient with the athletic department as we are piecing together make-up dates and adding events where we can for our programs. Our priority is communicating changes to the community, our transportation department, our facilities department, and our officiating association as we work in conjunction to keep our seasons alive and well. There will be more changes, and when those occur, they will be posted on social media and the athletics website, so check back often.
It is more important than ever, especially after dealing with a surge in positive cases within our own programs, to adhere to the masking mandate for all visitors and fans in our indoor facilities for activities and athletics.
DISTRICT POLICY REGARDING INDOOR MASK MANDATES:
Concessions will not be operated at D21 facilities and events for the time being.
Outside food and drink are NOT permitted in D21 athletic events and facilities for the time being.
Masking is required of ALL FANS AND VISITORS to D21 athletic facilities. This includes bench players, coaches, and event workers. The only personnel NOT required to wear masks during our events, are on-court, participating athletes and in-game officials.
Feel free to contact the athletic office if you have any questions.
That’s what’s coming up in Riverhawkland! I encourage you to come out and support our student-athletes, practice social distancing, be safe, stay warm, take your time on the roads, and as always, GO RIVERHAWKS!
- A.D. Brost
