Months of hope amid delay turned to despair on Friday as the Arizona Interscholastic Association announced the cancellation of all winter sports.
Student-athletes on Payson Highâs boys and girls basketball and wrestling teams patiently waited and adjusted as the AIA pushed the start of winter sports competition from early December to mid-January and cut their schedules.
COVID-19 minimization efforts spurred the moves that included elimination of regular-season wrestling tournaments and a limit of one match per day for wrestlers prior to the section tournament, limiting teams to 14 dual matches in the shortened season.
With only duals allowed during the regular season rather than the common four-team formate with two matches going simultaneously, Payson would have been able to hold all home matches under one of the few spotlights in the state, which opponents love to wrestle under.