The Minnesota State High School League did the right thing by suspending the state's wrestling season for eight games to try to prevent the spread of a skin infection.
The first cases were reported after a tournament in Rochester at the end of December, and officials noted the disease had shown up in some wrestlers in the Twin Cities area. The skin rash was attributed to herpes gladiatorum, which is passed by contact.
Though none of us wants to see our wrestlers sidelined at this time of year, just before sections, it was appropriate to take the steps the MSHSL did.
Because of the amount of contact in wrestling, the disease is easily spread in the sport. In addition, wrestlers often face competition from all over the state in holiday or weekend tournaments, making an outbreak difficult to contain.
Though local officials do a great job of taking preventative measures, and the affliction wasn't reported in this area, it's still better to be safe than sorry.
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By taking decisive action when it did, the MSHSL could have prevented a much larger disappointment for wrestling fans: the cancellation of either the section tournaments or the state tournament itself.
It's better to act now, get the problem under control, and get on with the season. While it caused some disappointment among wrestling fans, the greater disappointment seems to have been averted.
