The COVID-19 pandemic touched all segments of society and drastically altered life for many people. The Missouri Valley College Athletic Department was impacted significantly as a total of 19 programs had their seasons cut short due to the pandemic. However, the sudden change to society was felt in a variety of ways for Viking athletic teams. Some programs were hundreds of miles from campus when social distancing measures were being rolled out while some programs were just hours away from national competitions. Some programs had barely started competing, and some programs were nearing the end of their seasons. We’ll take a look at the days leading up to mid-March and how everything changed rapidly for so many Missouri Valley student-athletes. ATHLETIC TIMELINE
ATHLETICS
Saturday, March 7 3:35 p.m. |
Thursday, March 12 12:15 p.m. | The NAIA announces the cancellation of all winter championship events, which includes the NAIA Competitive Cheer National Championship and the NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Invitational.
Wednesday, March 11 9:19 p.m. | The NAIA issues another update, this time restricting fans at national competitions currently taking place. The Missouri Valley College cheer team is in Davenport, Iowa for the NAIA Competitive Cheer National Championship, and the women’s wrestling team is in Jamestown, North Dakota for the NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Invitationals. The cheer event is being limited to a select number of spectators per team.
The Missouri Valley College men’s volleyball team falls to Mount Mercy (Iowa) in a match played inside the Burns Athletic Complex. This turns out to be the final home event of the 2019-20 athletic year for the Viking athletic department. Also, the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, men’s and women’s tennis teams, the softball team and the men’s golf team are currently on the road to various destinations for spring break competitions. Lacrosse teams are traveling to Kentucky and Georgia, tennis is traveling to South Carolina, softball is traveling to Arizona and golf is going to Mississippi.
Wednesday, March 11 3:21 p.m. | Missouri Valley College issues its first communication in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. The communication lists the steps the College is taking to keep the campus community safe, but acknowledges students are scheduled to be on campus for in-person classes starting March 16.
Friday, March 6 10 a.m. | The Missouri Valley
College men’s wrestling team started competition at the 2020 NAIA Wrestling National Championship near Wichita, Kansas.
Thursday, March 5 Approximately 3:30 p.m. | Missouri Valley College faculty and staff are together in a meeting with President Humphrey. Among the topics discussed at the meeting is the possible spread of COVID-19 into our region, and how the College will handle the situation. Students are less than 24 hours from starting spring break, and Dr. Humphrey’s talk focuses on possible scenarios the College will implement, should the disease spread to campus.
Sunday, March 8 through Wednesday, March 11 | A total of 23 sporting events take place, all on the road, for various Viking athletic teams. The only issue during this stretch of time is unseasonable rain in the Phoenix, Arizona area, causing the cancellation of softball games as well as bus issues for the men’s lacrosse team, causing the cancellation of a game against No. 1 Reinhardt (Georgia). However, the early stages of the pandemic were being noticed by teams traveling away from Marshall.
Thursday, March 12 11:07 a.m. | The first regular season sporting event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tennis teams were scheduled to play at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia, but the school canceled all remaining spring sporting events that morning.
Wednesday, March 11 8:29 p.m. |
Friday, March 6 Approximately 3 p.m. | The Missouri Valley College track and field team is competing at the 2020 NAIA Indoor National Championships in Brookings, South Dakota. Clayton Gause has just finished the heptathlon, and becomes the first Viking track student-athlete to earn All-American status at the Indoor Nationals since 2014.
The NAIA issues its first update to changes at National championship events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, events at the NAIA Competitive Cheer National Championship are canceled, but the competition is scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday with no fan restrictions.
www.moval.edu 11
10 Missouri Valley College | 2020
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