To say itβs been a chaotic year athletically for Santa Rita High School senior Candice Pocase would be a drastic understatement, even amidst a pandemic.
The 17-year-old multi-sport athlete dealt with a serious injury, the shutdown of spring sports and a late start to her cross country season due to district delays and no coach under which to train, all in the middle of the Coronavirus.
But despite the shortened season and the unusual new routine of wellness checks and enhanced safety protocols, Pocase and dozens of other Southern Arizona high school distance runners are eagerly anticipating sectionals this week and the chance to compete for a state championship later this month.
Like most things in 2020, the rules are different: Only the top one-third of teams will go, as opposed to the top 50% that advanced in previous years. And for individual athletes, only the top seven finishers from non-qualifying teams will advance. Pre-Coronavirus, the top 14 went on to state.
But Pocase and her peers have adapted quickly to the multitude of changes these past few months, and in a 2020 filled with upsets, are just grateful to be given the opportunity to compete for the stateβs top spots.
βIβm a little bit nervousβ
In the spring, right after Southern Arizona sports came crashing to a halt, Pocase started showing concussion symptoms, months after a wrestling match in which her opponentβs head smacked into the back of Pocaseβs, following a successful move by the latter.
Her doctor diagnosed her with a concussion and enacted a strict protocol for the next few months, which included no running.
Pocase, 17, is a member of Santa Ritaβs wrestling, track and cross country teams. Sheβs recently added volleyball to her repertoire and previously played football.
A state qualifier in pole vault her freshman and sophomore years, Pocase had already been forced to sit her junior season out due to injury by the time it was canceled in late March.
After three months without training, Pocase was given the all-clear by her doctor to return to training, and she hit the streets in late July to get ready for the cross country season in the fall.
But there were a few more hitches: Tucson Unified School District had still not decided what to do about fall sports, and Santa Rita no longer had a cross country coach.
Not one to spend a semester on the sidelines, Pocase quickly pivoted.
βWhen it seemed like cross country wasnβt going to happen, I signed up for volleyball,β Pocase said. βPlaying in masks is different, but itβs not as difficult as I thought it was going to be.β
Used to juggling a full schedule, Pocase was happy to fit cross country into her routine once a coach came on board and Santa Ritaβs season got up and running. But after an injury knocked her male counterpart out for the season, Pocase now finds herself as the sole member of the Eagles cross country team.
Pocase said that the safety protocols have been easy for the most part, and sheβs just relieved to not have to be running races wearing a mask. Runners still have to be masked during warm-ups and all other times, but theyβre given a few minutes post-race to catch their breaths before being required to put the masks back on, Pocase said.
And despite the late start and very shortened season (Santa Rita has only participated in a handful of meets) Pocase managed to top last yearβs personal record of 23 minutes, 6 seconds with a new best time of 22:41 at Maranaβs Eye of the Tiger meet late last month.
In the last meet of the season on Oct. 28, Pocase came in sixth for girls with a time of 23:13.
βIt was hard with the hills and the mud. I was a little disappointed in my time, but it wasnβt too bad,β Pocase said, adding that sheβs hopeful her sectionals performance will land her a return trip to state. Pocase qualified last year.
With Santa Ritaβs sectionals slated for Wednesday in Rio Rico, Pocase said sheβs feeling good. But still, given the ups and downs that 2020 has brought, sheβs not letting herself get overly confident.
βIβm a little bit nervous.β
βIβm thankful that we even have a seasonβ
Rincon/University senior Jonah Barber has been running his whole life, starting off with turkey trots in middle school and initially focusing his high school athletic career on soccer.
βMy parents forced me to do (cross country,)β Barber, 17, said. βIβm kind of glad they did. Itβs been my favorite sport and it introduced me to my friend group.β
Barber finished first in last weekβs meet, with a time of 17:00. He hopes to continue his running career in college.
But first, he hopes to make it to state with his team.
βI got to go individually last year, but cross country is all about running with your friends and competing as a team,β Barber said. βWeβve been a really tight-knit group of friends and teammates. This was our longtime goal, making state as a team.β
Last year, Rinconβs boys team missed out on state by only a few points. This year, theyβve been training hard in order to make it. The team is made up of mostly seniors, all of whom have been running together the past four years.
βItβs definitely been very strange, but Iβm thankful that we even have a season,β Barber said. βMe and a couple of the guys trained over the summer, but we didnβt know if we were going to have a season.β
With the Rangersβ whole season being comprised of three meets, there was a very small window for athletes to work on improving their times and getting used to the new safety protocols and procedures.
βItβs been nice to have a goal at the end, making it to state, and focusing on that goal,β Barber said, adding that it has helped distract from the world outside.
And as for his decision to take his parents advice about cross country all those years ago?
βIt was a good decision,β Barber said. βIβve excelled at it.β
βI couldnβt compete for my schoolβ
Coming in second behind Barber in Thursdayβs meet was Tucson High junior, Joseph Moreno, with a time of 17:25.
Barber has had an impressive season in a short amount of time, with Tucson High being one of the last schools to start competing.
βThe first part of the season, I was running meets, but I was running unattached,β Moreno, 16, said. βI couldnβt compete for my school, which was kind of sad because of the team aspect.β
Moreno said it was hard warming up, running and leaving meets along, instead of with his team.
βThis season seems pretty rushed,β Moreno said. βIt makes sense, because of the Coronavirus and such, but itβs an outside sport and thereβs no ball that weβre all touching.β
Moreno said that the Badgersβ cross country team this year is about half the size of previous years, mostly because teammates arenβt able to get rides to practice and meets.
Also a spring track participant, Moreno is hopeful for a season, although heβs already aware it will likely involve far fewer meets.
But before track comes Wednesdayβs sectionals, which for Tucson High is at Crossroads Park in Gilbert. Moreno is feeling good.
βI think Iβll make it,β he said, confident despite the unusual circumstances of the season. βI feel like for most people this would all be pretty tough, but Iβm really dedicated to running. I run over 10 miles a day, so itβs not a problem for me.β
At this point, Moreno is just grateful to be back, competing with his team.
βI get my motivation from them,β Moreno said. βYou win a meet with your team, you donβt win individually.β
βWeβre ready to roll with whateverβ
Sabino junior Eva Bruce said like most other schools, hers also got off to a late start this season, trying to figure out how to safely implement social distancing and new protocols into practices and meets.
And despite only running in three meets, Bruce said her season has been really good.
βWeβve been growing closer as a team,β Bruce, 16, said. βWeβve had lots of opportunities to talk to each other and get to know each other better.β
In a change from most other schools, Sabinoβs boys cross country team increased to 10 people this year. Itβs girls team, on the other hand, shrunk.
βI feel really confident in my team, weβre closer together running-wise than we ever have been,β Bruce said. βWe all put our best out there and give it our all. It looks a little different than last year, but weβre ready to roll with whatever.β
When sheβs not competing for the Sabercats, Bruce, who has been running since she was 4 years old, also competes unattached. She recently competed in a decathlon in Texas, saying that track- specifically the heptathlon- is her event of choice.
βCross country helps with those other events as well, endurance-wise,β Bruce said. βI wouldnβt be as good in the heptathlon and decathlon if I didnβt have the ability to go six miles and not stop.β
Like her peers around the county, Bruce is eager for sectionals and the opportunity to compete at state. Itβs also not lost on her how much hard work went into making those final events, or the season itself, even happen.
βAll of our teachers and coaches have been doing their best,β Bruce said.