This year’s sports seasons came to an abrupt end in March when the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to virtually everything in a high school senior’s life. For some, this will be the end of their organized sporting career but for others who will be playing college sports, they need to keep in shape. Having been used to competing and exercising all of the time, we wondered how these athletes were keeping a routine. We will periodically reach out to other seniors in the next few weeks.
Emma Stensrud
Emma Stensrud of Florence says that it has been difficult to stay motivated and interested in school even though the online schooling is going ‘okay’. She says she does get to see one friend a lot but misses the rest of her friends. Stensrud played volleyball and basketball for the Falcons but has decided not to play in college. She will be attending North Idaho College where she plans on studying criminal justice. She has been outside as much as possible, either riding her bike or hiking with her dog.
“It’s a really odd situation but we have to make it the best we can, life happens,” Stensrud concluded.
Carson Rostad
Carson Rostad is a senior at Hamilton and has had great success on both the gridiron and the basketball court. The 2018-2019 Gatorade Football Player of the Year signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Montana Grizzlies prior to last fall’s football season. He said he is doing homework outs and lifting weights at home as well as running outside. He and his brother Tyson work out together sometimes. The Rostad family has to be extra vigilant because of their sister, Mackenzie who has multiple health problems.
Rostad said he likes the online schooling because he can learn at his own pace. He plans on studying biology at UM with an eye towards going into the medical field.
Hannah Hutchison
Hannah Hutchison is a senior at Corvallis where she was on the state champion volleyball team. She was also on the basketball team that won the divisional championship and went on to state. Last spring, she finished third at the state track meet in the high jump. As to how she is keeping in shape this year, she said she is riding her bike and running every morning to keep from going crazy. While celebrating the championship at Divisional in Ronan, Hutchison came down wrong on her ankle and severely sprained it so she has used this time to recuperate. She said she has been at home for the past month and it’s been really difficult not to see her friends but they do face-time once a week. Hutchison plans on attending Colorado State in Fort Collins where she will major in biomedical science with an eye towards going into the medical field or veterinary field.
Nelson Smith
Nelson Smith is a senior at Darby. He plans on attending the Bitterroot College to get his general classes out of the way and then transferring to BYU Provo where he may study sports medicine or become an anesthesiologist. He was planning on going on an LDS mission before attending BYU but with the pandemic, those plans are on hold.
Smith said he’s spending a lot of time working outside, doing yard work, trimming trees, and stacking firewood. All of that keeps him in shape plus he and his brother, Preston, play some football and basketball. He also gets to see one classmate who lives right next door. He said the online schooling is okay but there are some issues with communication with some of the teachers. They do Zoom and face-time and he said that helps. Also, Darby had already had personalized learning in place for most of the high school and he felt that has been an advantage because many of the teachers knew what to do with online classes.