The Season That Never Was

Shutdown

The spring of 2020 was supposed to be a reset. After a 3-11 rebuilding year, the Mariners had reason for optimism. Sophomore Aidan Niklaus was coming off a 41-goal freshman campaign. Kale Lampman and Jack Curran were returning as sophomores with a full season of varsity experience. Seniors Ian Forsberg, Blake Biscotti, and Houston Day were ready to lead. And first-year head coach Bill Ciancio — the program's fourth head coach in five seasons — was eager to put his stamp on the team.

None of it happened. On March 13, 2020, the CIF suspended all spring sports statewide as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools across California. Aptos never played a single game. Some teams in the MTAL managed a few early-season contests before the shutdown — Hollister went 3-2, Stevenson played three games — but the Mariners' schedule hadn't started yet. The season was canceled entirely.

For the seniors, there would be no farewell. No last game at Trevin Dilfer Field, no chance to improve on the 2019 record, no postseason awards. Forsberg, who had earned second-team All-PCAL honors the year before, lost his chance at a first-team senior campaign. Day, who would go on to found the CSUMB lacrosse program and return as an Aptos assistant coach, never got to play his final high school season. The blank record — 0-0 — stands as a reminder of what was taken from every spring athlete in 2020.