by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Winter, the guest that stayed too long, put the kibosh on outdoor sports activities all through April, including sports in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.
As a result, athletes and coaches in most sports are now trying to “catch up” as best they can.
The district’s activities director John Ross said scores of spring games had to be cancelled or rescheduled throughout April and even many rescheduled games were again cancelled and/or rescheduled.
Scheduling for high school sports is done by the Central Lakes Conference activities directors, in close collaboartion with golf courses, baseball facilities and other outdoor venues where spriing sports take place.
“The final four weeks will be a challenge for spring athletes,” Ross said.
Sports activities have become a race with time in busy May, a month of concerts, awards nights, the prom, dances and so much else going on.
One way to deal with the time crunch is to schedule many double-header games for baseball and softball, as well as outdoor tennis, although there have been some indoor tennis matches.
The toughest activity to make up is golf, Ross noted, as courses were simply not open in April.
Sartell-St. Stephen seniors will graduate May 25.
For a revised spring sports schedule for Sartell-St. Stephen and elsewhere, go to the Central Lakes Conference website at: centallakesconference.org.
(Editor’s note: Information for this story was gathered by Jack Hellie, Sartell High School senior.)
Junior Anna Lindstrom (right) cheers on teammates Anna Lindell (freshman, front), Halie Kaufman (freshman, middle), and Kayla Larsen (eighth-grader, back) as they race in the mile event April 21 at Sartell Middle School. With snow on the field, this was the Sabre track-and-field team’s first outdoor meet. The Sabres hosted the Holdingford Huskies and runners grades 7-12 competed as the temperature hovered at a frigid 37 degrees.