The more things change, the more they ...
The calendar just flipped to 2022, but indoor track (and other sports) continue to wrestle with the effects of COVID-19, particularly in western Pennsylvania. Saturday's scheduled Tri-State Coaches (TSTCA) season opener at Edinboro University was canceled today, with the abundance of positives cases on the university's winter sports teams cited in an email sent to high school teams scheduled to compete.
Classes are not scheduled to resume at Edinboro until January 18, with international students and Fighting Scot athletes now on campus. In addition to the meet cancellation, TSTCA officials announced in the email that no spectators will be permitted for the three remaining meets scheduled in January.
The last time a TSTCA meet was conducted was the 2020 championships on February 22. Weeks later, national championships in all sports were canceled at the last minute in hopes of slowing the global pandemic. In 2021, the entire TSTCA winter schedule was nixed as numerous indoor ovals across the state were not open to outside groups because of the coronavirus.
This weekend's meet was scheduled as the first of five regular season TSTCA meets, culminating in the championship event on February 19. University and TSTCA officials are hoping to resume the schedule with meet #2 on Friday, January 14.