Soccer, tennis, and cross country will participate in their respective section tournaments in the next few weeks, marking an end to the season. The matches are set based on section rankings: the #1 teams in each section will play the lowest seeds, while the #2 teams will play the second-worst teams in bracket-style play until only one remains.

The state tournament has been canceled, meaning this is the only and last chance to gain a piece of hardware for the season. These playoff games have a thrilling intensity, which remains unmatched in the regular season, making it an exciting and intense experience for players. Each game will be played at the home field of the highest seed in the matchup. Girls tennis is currently scheduled to hold their tournament from October 5th to October 17th, while boys’ and girls’ soccer games will be played from October 12th to October 24th.

Throughout the entire season, student-athletes have been required to fill out daily health surveys, take their temperatures frequently, and wear a mask at all times. Headed into the section tournament, none of this will be changing, as the guidelines have been very efficient and have worked quite well. Also, fan restriction policies put into place during the season are set to continue through the tournaments. In most cases, this means each player will be allowed two family members at each game, meaning no students will be admitted to cheer on their team.

Sophomore Cross Country runner Soren Mishra said, “It can be very difficult to race because for me the motivation is seeing fans around and my teammates have said that when there are no fans around it is pretty hard to keep going.”

With all of these new restrictions, fan policies, and a canceled state tournament, the section tournament this year will surely be one of the most intense and emotional ever.