Anna Baxter sifts through some old photos and stumbles across one that makes her smile.

It's a picture of her wearing a seventh-grade track uniform, sprinting ahead of the pack for a win in what she thinks is her first-ever junior high meet.

“Time sure does fly,” she says.

It's a bittersweet moment for Anna, now a senior on the Butler Area High School track and field team.

She had big goals for her final campaign.

Anna had her sights set on an elusive school record in 300-meter hurdles and was on a quest to help the Golden Tornado girls track and field team to a fourth-straight WPIAL team title.

On Thursday, Anna found out she won't get a chance to chase any of those goals.

Hours after Gov. Tom Wolf announced that all schools in the state would be closed for the remainder of the academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the PIAA canceled the remainder of the winter sports season and the spring sports season as well.

The decision by the state's governing athletic body made Pennsylvania the 17th state to shut down sports seasons. Maine took the same route Thursday.

“(Thursday's) decision by the PIAA board of directors was difficult for everyone,” said PIAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Lombardi in a prepared statement. “Their thoughts remain on the thousands of student-athletes, coaches, officials and family members affected by this decision.”

Decision disliked, but expected

Many coaches and athletes weren't entirely surprised the PIAA pulled the plug.

It didn't make the shock and the ache caused by a lost season any easier to stomach, however.

For the Butler boys and the North Catholic boys and girls basketball teams, the cancelation was even more difficult to absorb.

All three teams were still alive in the PIAA playoffs and had designs on state titles.

But Butler boys basketball coach Matt Clement said it was just a matter of time before the tournament was canceled.

“You knew eventually this was going to be the case,” Clement said. “I give the PIAA a lot of credit for taking their time and holding off. They left that hope there. Hope is important in this situation.”

Hope, though, also was a dangerous thing.

Hans Rottmann, a senior guard on the North Catholic boys basketball team, said the news his season was officially over still floored him.

“The whole time you're hoping deep down that this season will continue because I think our whole team felt like we still had unfinished business,” Hans said. “It feels weird because we did not even celebrate that much after the (second-round playoff) win over Aliquippa and this just absolutely blind-sided us.”

North Catholic senior and Butler native Kylee Lewandowski said she understood why the decision was made.

“I understand it's for the best,” she said. “Everyone is sacrificing at this time and this is part of what needs to be done to keep people safe.”

Focusing on what was, instead of what could have been

The state basketball tournament was halted in mid-March. Teams weren't even permitted to practice.

Butler won 17 consecutive games and was set to face McDowell in the Class 6A quarterfinals.

The North Catholic boys won 20 straight games and were getting ready to play Richland in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

The North Catholic girls were scheduled to play Forest Hills in a Class 4A quarterfinal matchup.

“To finish the year on a 17-game win streak ... a 17-game win streak is a really tough thing to do in high school sports,” Clement said. “We had a lot of great accomplishments. A lot of great memories. Everyone in that locker room had never ended a season with a win before.”

The Class 2A swimming and diving championships were also canceled.

The PIAA delayed making this decision as long as it could.

“We had maintained hope for a continuation of our winter championships and an abbreviated spring season to help bring a sense of normalcy to our communities,” Lombardi said in the statement.

That was no longer possible after Wolf's announcement Thursday.

Hope doesn't spring eternal, seasons stifled

Spring sports athletes, like Anna, also said they had an inkling their seasons would never begin.

They still kept the faith, however.

Now that faith is gone.

“It's devastating,” said Karns City senior softball player Mackenzie Dunn. “We all worked so hard before this all happened and don't have anything to show for it.”

For the first time since the quarantine, Knoch senior cross county and track and field star Sammy Jo Barnes cried.

“What was getting me through this was that glimmer of hope, so the announcement definitely hit me hard,” Sammy Jo said. “It's tough, but it's really taught me a lot about appreciating things and not taking them for granted.”

Moniteau senior baseball player Gage Neal also was holding tightly to the belief that his senior campaign would be pulled out of the ashes.

When that idea was dashed Thursday, it hurt.

“It's one of the hardest things to hear,” Gage said. “Knowing that senior season is officially over is awful. It is going to be a tough few weeks, but we just have to stay positive and get through this all together.”

Reaching beyond the loss

Everyone affected is trying to stay positive.

Clement said this memorable season, which included three overtime playoff wins, will be seared into the minds of the staff and players for a lifetime, especially amid the backdrop of COVID-19.

“This is something that is historic that is going on right now,” Clement said. “It's really hard to get upset about it right now with everything that's going on in the world. People are dying. People are out of jobs.

“I'm just really proud of what our guys accomplished,” the coach added.

Anna said the sting and sense of loss in the wake of the cancellations will fade over time.

Even now, she is contemplative about what this means in the grand scheme of things.

“So much time is invested into sports, so to have spring sports and the remainder of the school year end is just surreal to me,” Anna said. “It's definitely difficult to comprehend and to put into words. Although it can be difficult to wrap our minds around, everything happens for a reason. I've found peace in knowing that whenever I stepped on the track, I left all that I had on it.”