Beaver Area High School is “wrestling” with COVID.

But not other schools.

As we all know, wrestling isn't a very socially distant sport. However, the Bobcat wrestlers are determined to have their season. With no matches yet to be held, their season is on hold like all others.

“I am kinda bummed that the season is shut down because it leaves us to wonder if we will be able to wrestle or not,” stated sophomore Diego Gutierrez.

“It stinks having everything shut down but it’s just another bump in the road. [This] won’t stop us from working towards our goals,” added Western Beaver senior Austin Jones.

Jones is one of four Western Beaver wrestlers who compete alongside the Bobcats since they don’t have a program of their own.

This “setback” is not going to stop these Bobcats from bettering themselves. After Gov. Wolf’s mandate that stopped high school sports until January 3, the wrestlers knew they had to come up with some type of plan to stay in shape—and they did just that.

“I provided the team an at-home workout plan to keep them in shape the next few weeks. Wrestlers need to have a lot of self discipline in order to compete at a high level. This is an extension of that learning and training that goes beyond the sport,” explained Coach Alan Alcalde, who is also the district athletic director.

“Concerning the pause instituted by the state, this doesn’t change how important training is prior to competition; all athletes have the same amount of time between right now and our return to competition. Training makes the difference, just like it always did,” added Coach Chris George.

Nonetheless, everyone is excited to get back on the mat.

“I feel that despite being moved up a classification we could still have tons of success,” stated Gutierrez.

“So far what the team has been doing, we are challenging ourselves now, so that when we are challenged later, it doesn't feel like a challenge. It feels like a routine,” added Coach George.

Despite the long time that the Cats have to wait, they are ready to wrestle. Their first post-shutdown match has yet to be announced.