SPORTS

SPORTS
Elk alumni feeling the virus effect on sports

The 2020 high school spring sports season cancellations was a blow to all the Elk Rapids players, coaches and fans. Several Elk alumni that moved onto play sports at the collegiate level are also feeling the cancellation sting.

Finn Husband, a 2019 Elk graduate, earned state champion honors three times in skiing and was all-state in soccer for the Elks. Husband went on to play both sports at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire but had his freshman year on the slopes cut short. “Our ski season had pretty much wrapped up before the school canceled the rest of the season,” Husband said. “We had finished all of our carnival races but still had FIS (club) races that were canceled, which was a bummer because those are typically the most fun races to be at.” 

Husband returned to Elk Rapids for spring break and did not return after the remainder of semester was canceled. Colby-Sawyer has plans to resume classes on September 7, but soccer will not be played. “Soccer, unfortunately, has been canceled this year, but we will still be conditioning and training pretty often to stay in shape in case they can reschedule us to the spring season,” said Husband, who is heading into his sophomore year. “There’s no word on skiing yet this year but we’re hoping it’s going to resume on schedule.”

Allison Ashurst returned home as Adrian College closed in Mid-March. Ashurst and Lydia Christian, 2018 Elk graduates, are a pair of former Elk volleyball standouts that are hoping to play their junior season on the Adrian Bulldog volleyball court this fall. “There has not been any information on the season yet. The plan for classes is to return to the in-person format. That could change depending on the virus, no one really knows,” Ashurst said. 

Drew Antcliff, who graduated in 2019 after playing goalie four years for the Lady Elks soccer team, has one year of college soccer on her resume, playing for University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Antcliff learned on Monday that her sophomore season had been canceled, with an outside chance it may be played in the spring. “They work so hard to be able to have the privilege to play a college sport and this happens! Hurts the parents more I think,” her father, Darryl Antcliff, posted on social media.

College cancellations also came last spring for a pair of 2017 Elk grads. Zach Platt was in Florida getting ready to pitch for Rochester University when the virus halted the season. Platt played for the Manistee Saints baseball team in a shortened schedule this summer and will not lose any eligibility for the canceled season. Devin Sempert, a first team all-state player for the Elks, took a year off after his freshman year in college to build muscle and work on his baseball skills. Sempert was leaner, quicker and ready to dominate this past spring for Delta College, hoping to draw attention to his game and continue at a bigger four-year school. The virus canceled his season after five games, leaving Sempert frustrated. “All that work I put in just to have the season canceled was frustrating. I actually fell hard for lifting and training and have moved on right now into bodybuilding. It was a hard choice, I love baseball and it’s been part of my life for so long, and I may go back to the game,” Sempert said.
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Wait and see is the reoccurring theme for sports at any level in the world today. These former Elk athletes will have to do just that, while they stay ready and hope for the best.

FOOTBALL
Trautman signs NFL contract

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Trautman signs NFL rookie contract. Courtesy photo
A former Elk gridiron star officially became a New Orleans Saint on Monday, as Adam Trautman signed his NFL rookie contract at his apartment in New Orleans. All four of the New Orleans 2020 draft picks signed Tuesday, then were given a COVID-19 test followed by a three-day period of quarantine that included virtual meetings with the Saints organization. A second test will be administered on day four and if both tests turn out negative each player will be cleared for training camp. The four rookie draft picks have been working out on their own, with the virus eliminating any of the normal rookie camps or organized team activities. For the last two seasons, the Saints had their draft picks signed by early May. Teams were not able to conduct physicals due to the NFL closing all team facilities, which delayed the signing. There have been no Saints players allowed in the Saints practice facility, and none will be allowed until the two tests come back negative. Trautman has been in New Orleans for the past few weeks, getting used to the heat while working out. “Time to work,” Trautman posted on his Instagram account.