-
Final
HAR
LOU3
13 -
Final
HAR
LOU1
13 -
Final
LOU
SH0
9 -
Final
BAL
LOU6
12 -
Final
LOU
OTT14
8 -
Final
LOU
OTT21
4 -
Final
SH
LOU4
5 -
Final
WEL
LOU1
14 -
Final
WEL
LOU2
10 -
Final
LOU
BONSP7
0 -
Final
LOU
BONSP5
1 -
Final
LOU
TONG9
4 -
Final
LOU
PIP19
15 -
Final
LOU
PIP5
7 -
Final
LOU
LAN5
4 -
Final
LOU
LAN5
4 -
Final
LOU
BV6
16 -
Apr 25, 430 p
LOU
AC
-
Apr 25, 6 pm
LOU
AC
-
Final
LOU
PV19
3 -
Final
LOU
CHA6
10 -
Final
EUD
LOU5
16 -
Postponed
EUD
LOU
-
Final
LOU
PAO4
11 -
Final
LOU
PAO18
3 -
Final
BL
LOU10
4
-
Final
FRON
LOU11
0 -
Postponed
FRON
LOU
-
Final
BAL
LOU2
13 -
Final
LOU
OTT10
11 -
Final
LOU
OTT10
0 -
Final
SH
LOU13
2 -
Final
SH
LOU16
5 -
Final
WEL
LOU3
4 -
Final
WEL
LOU6
7 -
Final
LOU
BONSP4
1 -
Final
LOU
BONSP13
10 -
Final
LOU
TONG9
4 -
Final
LOU
TONG3
5 -
Final
LOU
MAC5
21 -
Final
LOU
EMP5
2 -
Final
LOU
BVW1
2 -
Final
FS
LOU12
0 -
Final
FS
LOU14
9 -
Final
EUD
LOU14
2 -
Final
LOU
LAN4
5 -
Final
LOU
CHAN0
10 -
Final
LOU
LAN1
3 -
Final
LOU
CHA1
6 -
Final
LOU
PAO9
2 -
Final
LOU
PAO12
3 -
Final
LOU
BAL10
0
-
Final
BAL
LOU3
1 -
Final
LOU
OLW0
2 -
Final
LOU
DES0
2 -
Final
PIP
LOU2
1 -
Final
BUR
LOU0
2 -
Final
LOU
OTT2
3 -
Final
LOU
FRON INV1st
PL -
Final
LOU
BONSP3
0 -
Final
LOU
EUD0
3 -
Final
FS
LOU0
2 -
Final
GIR
LOU1
2 -
Final
LOU
LOU INV2nd
PL -
Final
PAO
LOU0
3 -
Final
LOU
SH0
3 -
Final
LOU
OTT INV1
4 -
Final
TONG
LOU1
3 -
Final
LOU
ATCH INV2nd
PL -
Final
WAM
LOU0
2 -
Final
OLN
LOU1
2
-
Final
TONG
LOU51
53 -
Final
LOU
BUR51
63 -
Final
AC
LOU37
44 -
Final
LOU
BAL42
60 -
Final
LOU
FRON57
46 -
Final
LOU
EUD46
53 -
Final OT
LOU
SH60
57 -
Final
BAL
LOU62
46 -
Final
NEK
LOU55
54 -
Final 2OT
GIR
LOU58
56 -
Final
LOU
WAM45
56 -
Final
BON
LOU45
53 -
Final
PAO
LOU16
47 -
Final
LEE
LOU71
46 -
Final
LOU
OTT52
62 -
Final
LOU
TONG45
40 -
Final
SH
LOU44
42 -
Final
EUD
LOU52
49 -
Final
LOU
PAO46
29 -
Final
HAR
LOU57
52
-
Final
TONG
LOU48
28 -
Final
LOU
BUR38
43 -
Final
AC
LOU35
31 -
Final
LOU
BAL23
42 -
Final
LOU
FRON48
55 -
Final
LOU
EUD37
56 -
Final
LOU
SH46
59 -
Final
BAL
LOU52
31 -
Final
NEK
LOU41
49 -
Final
CHA
LOU53
36 -
Final
GIR
LOU42
34 -
Final
LOU
WAM24
63 -
Final
BON
LOU35
40 -
Final
PAO
LOU38
42 -
Final
LOU
OTT29
45 -
Final
LOU
TONG40
39 -
Final
SH
LOU43
37 -
Final
EUD
LOU38
30 -
Final
LOU
PAO39
35 -
Final
HAR
LOU33
40
Local college athletes watch as seasons canceled due to COVID-19
- Updated: March 19, 2020
![](https://louisburgsportszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/emalee.jpg)
Bethel College junior Emalee Overbay was off to a great start to her softball season with the Threshers before she saw her season canceled thanks to the COVID-19 virus.
Before the Kansas High School Activities Association announced it would be canceling the spring sports season Wednesday, colleges and their athletes were already days in to a horrible realization.
Both the NCAA and NAIA canceled all spring sports and their postseasons last week due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus that has left the entire country scrambling for an ounce of normalcy.
Louisburg High School graduates Emalee Overbay and Isabelle Holtzen are still trying to find it.
Overbay, Holtzen and college athletes across the country were shocked when they were informed their seasons that they had prepared for months for, was taken away in the matter of minutes.
Although Holtzen and Overbay are considered underclassmen, and still have the opportunity to compete next season, the loss of the next two months of competition has been hard to swallow.
It was a life no one saw coming.
———-
All was going well for Holtzen, who is a sophomore pole vaulter at the University of Northern Iowa. She competed in the indoor season over the winter and achieved some personal bests in the process.
Holtzen finished her indoor campaign on top as she took third at the Missouri Valley Conference meet with clearance of 3.63 meters (close to 12 feet). That placing earned her all-conference honors for the first time in her career.
“Indoor season this year was honestly a bit of a challenge for me,” Holtzen said. “Early on in the year, I was able to PR, but then kinda fell into a slump about halfway through. It was extraordinarily frustrating as I was dealing with a bit of an injury and wasn’t performing as well as I wanted. Luckily, I have amazing teammates, coaches and family that helped me figure it out. I was very excited to be able to receive all-conference honors, especially since it ended up being my last meet of the year.”
![](https://louisburgsportszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/isbelle.jpg)
The thought of canceling the season hadn’t even crossed Holtzen’s mind as she found herself at practice just days later getting ready for a team meeting to talk about the upcoming outdoor season. It was there where she heard the news.
“It truly was a surreal moment, looking around at my fellow athletes and seeing the disbelief, disappointment and sadness in everyone’s eyes,” she said. “No one could believe that it was real. It was so sad to see the seniors realize that they would never get to put their uniform on and compete for UNI again.”
The same could be said for Overbay.
She had already kicked off her softball season for the Bethel Threshers and was off to a promising start herself. Overbay had put up some good numbers and was recently named as the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
All that optimism quickly went away when the team was informed on a Friday morning that their season was over.
“None of it felt real, it still doesn’t,” Overbay said. “I never would have guessed that my season would have been cut short, or soon evaporated completely. When the news came out there other schools/colleges were shutting down, I was confused. I guess I didn’t understand how serious the issue was. I was still very disconnected from the problem, assuming that nothing like that would happen to us.
“The news flooded me with emotion as there goes the possibility of playing my junior year. What was I going to do with softball, something that has been so consistent in my life, confusion as to why all this was happening, why are people canceling our sports, and I couldn’t help but to think what was going to happen to my seniors. I met up with the three seniors after the announcement and we all cried together.”
To help athletes try to get through the difficult time, the NCAA approved an extra year of eligibility for those spring sports athletes that are affected.
As nice of an option as that was, going back for an extra year of school to compete in a sport that doesn’t provide a full scholarship in many cases might not makes sense for those involved.
“A lot of seniors already have jobs lined up and cannot afford to go to school for another year,” Holtzen said. “While for some this extra year offers some relief, with my current plan I will not be able to utilize that year because I plan to graduate in four years.”
The NAIA did much of the same the NCAA did, but like those athletes, it doesn’t make much sense for them to attend college for another year when it isn’t in their plans.
“This is great for the people who didn’t have plans for the following year,” Overbay said. “Looking at it through a seniors’ perspective, it is hard to put one’s life on hold, to put money towards another year of tuition when they could be finding a job, and starting a new chapter of their lives.
“A lot of this is just so inconvenient. I’m not sure what the girls are going to do, I’m not sure of what I myself will do. It’s all such a confusing time. All I can do is have faith that God has a plan.”
It has been difficult adjustment for athletes all across the country and is something no one could have planned for.
Instead, they find themselves trying to make the best of a bad, unfortunate situation.
“My teammates and I have definitely been leaning on each other to get through this,” Holtzen said. “Our blood, sweat and tears go into competing and hopefully getting a PR to earn a spot on the podium. To have that goal ripped away from us this year was heartbreaking.
“It really brought into focus to never take a minute for granted because you never know when it will be the last time you compete. Life is like a track meet – full of obstacles. This is just another bar to get over.”