Rain and postponements can’t break Hayfield’s stride
Published 8:15 pm Wednesday, September 5, 2018
HAYFIELD — It was just another typical Tuesday night at Hayfield High School when the rain began to pile on.
Then things got a little weird.
Before long, a volleyball match between Hayfield and Pine Island was called off right before the national anthem due to flooding outside the school and the Hayfield boys cross country team was trying to make the transition to being an outdoor swimming team.
The volleyball match was postponed at the request of the Hayfield Fire Department after water began filling up the HHS parking lot and the cross country team took to swimming in a local creek after they finished up a practice in the pouring rain.
The swim for the cross country team featured a lot of fun, but it also had a lone casualty as sophomore Jackson Struck lost his glasses in the creek.
Hayfield head cross country coach Kellie Baker said she was glad her team, which had it’s home meet that was scheduled for Thursday cancelled due to the flooding, was able to find a way to make the best of a bad situation.
“They were embracing the moment and they couldn’t get any wetter than they already were from the rain.,” Baker said. “A lot of them were joking that they should compete as triathletes now.”
Hayfield junior Nathan Grav said the dip in the creek brought the Vikings a little closer together as a team.
“For me personally, I felt like it was a really good experience. It was good for team bonding,” Grav said. “We didn’t have any flood damage in town either. Just a lot of water.”
Hayfield athletic director Chris Pack said he was monitoring a possible tornado before the volleyball match on Tuesday, but he never anticipated having to cancel the match due to rain. After the cancellation, the concern became protecting Hayfield’s brand new gym floor as towels were placed by the doors to prevent water damage.
This fall has brought plenty of thunderstorms and rain as the Hayfield football team moved its kickoff an hour early due to weather last week due to weather and it comes after a spring that was filled with weather delays.
“You just have to be resilient and go with the flow,” Pack said. “Hopefully we can find a date to get it made up. The kids just want to get their games in and I know the [volleyball] coaches and players wanted to play last night.”
While the flood brought some worries for the Vikings, Pack was pleased with the attitude the Hayfield cross country team showed by embracing the rain.
“That just shows that they’re willing to roll with the punches and make something good about a potentially bad situation,” Pack said.