As the nation grappled with the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its fallout, the local sports scene took some hits on the collegiate level Thursday, while high schools mostly remained status quo.

On the high school front, Lewiston High School athletic director Corey Williams said no events have been postponed or canceled at this stage, but the school district is working with state and local health officials to make informed decisions.

“We’re in the information gathering stage, consulting with other districts and athletic directors,” Williams said. “We’re just wanting to make sure we have up-to-date and prompt information.”

Williams knows the current situation is fluid and things can and will happen in real time. But there has been no thought given to outright canceling the spring sports schedule as of this point.

“I think at this point, it’s just a thought, especially after seeing the NCAAs, NBA, etc. put their seasons on hold,” Williams said. “We’re just trying to get the best and most up-to-date information. Obviously, you’ve got a lot on your mind. You’ve got kids and parents who want to play, but you’ve got to make decisions that are best to all who are involved.”

Idaho High School Athletic Association executive director Ty Jones said the determination to cancel events in the state would be left up to individual school districts.

“We would look at cancellations for our events when we hear from the Department of Health and Welfare and they come out with a recommendation,” Jones said in an email.

Also, the statewide all-star basketball games that were to be set for Saturday at North Idaho College were canceled.

Across the border in Washington, Pullman athletic director Chris Franklin said he had to cancel events in which his teams were going to the west side of the state. The Greyhounds were scheduled to compete in boys’ soccer against Olympia and Centralia this coming weekend, while the baseball team was set to play against Richland in the Vancouver area. Both of those events have been canceled.

He said the district is taking a wait-and-see approach to the ongoing situation.

“Three weeks ago, it wasn’t an issue impacting schools,” Franklin said. “It wasn’t even a topic of conversation. Now, it will be interesting to see which direction we go in.”

He stressed the importance of keeping all participants and their families safe.

“I’ve been an athletic trainer for the last 26 years and (the) health and safety of our students are the most important,” Franklin said. “I want to make sure, not only our kids, but everybody is safe. It is a Catch-22 situation, but it is a safety issue.”

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association continued to state that any regular-season contests or practices are held at the discretion of each member school and district.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics canceled all winter sports championships that either were ongoing or set to take place, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball championships that Lewis-Clark State College’s teams were going to participate in starting next week.

The NAIA came out with a statement early in the day ­saying, “The health and safety of our student-athletes, as well as all involved in our championship events, is the NAIA’s highest priority.”

It was disappointing news for the two teams involved.

The Warrior women, coached by Brian Orr, were going into the tournament with a 21-10 overall record and an at-large bid after falling in Tuesday’s Frontier Conference final against Providence. Orr expressed disappointment for his players.

“It’s so sad for all the teams and players who won’t be able to experience the tournament,” Orr said. “It is especially sad for the seniors. I can’t imagine how they feel right now.”

The Warrior men, coached by Austin Johnson, were 29-3 heading into the tournament after winning the Frontier Conference final Monday against Carroll.

“Very tough day to get the news of the national tournament and then to have to relay that to our team, especially our senior,” Johnson said. “(It was an) abrupt and raw way to put an end to what had been arguably the best season in school history. Proud of our guys and how they handled the news but obviously a lot of pain and disappointment.”

Athletic director Brooke Henze understood the decision.

“The health, welfare and the safety of our athletes is the most important thing,” she said. “You can’t argue with the decision to protect our student-athletes.”

On a conference call later in the day, a majority of the ADs in the Cascade Conference, which LCSC will fully participate in next school year but is a member of in baseball currently, voted to suspend all spring sports for at least two weeks, until March 29.

And as of now, the Avista NAIA World Series, set to be played May 22-29 at Harris Field, still is on.

“At this point, there has been no discussion, with me, about spring championships, particularly the Avista World Series,” said Henze, who indicated there is no timeline yet as to when the event could be canceled, and the school will take its cues from the NAIA on the 12-team baseball tournament. “We, as an athletic department, are working in conjunction with the college and the NAIA as far as what direction we will be taking.

“Everything is happening so fast. I know right now the NAIA is dealing with basketball, but I assume we will have some kind of direction next week.”

Henze said there will be no team practices at least until Monday, when the school will reassess the situation.

The Big Sky and the Pac-12 conferences canceled their basketball tournaments, affecting the University of Idaho’s women’s team along with Washington State University’s men’s team.

Big Sky commissioner Tom Wistrcill said the decision, voted on by the conference’s President’s Council, was not made in haste.

“This decision was not made lightly, as we know how meaningful our basketball championships is to our student-athletes, coaches, alumni, and fans,” Wistrcill said. “After consulting with medical experts, local authorities, and the leadership of our institutions, we feel that this decision is prudent given the health and well-being of all involved.”

Later in the day, both conferences suspended all spring sports until further notice.

For Idaho, sports affected are men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s track and field.

For Washington State, sports affected are baseball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s track and field, women’s tennis and women’s rowing.

The most immediate impact on the Cougars is in track and field, where five competitors who had qualified for the NCAA indoor championships scheduled to begin today in Albuquerque, N.M. ,were affected.

Those athletes were seniors Emmanuel Wells (men’s 60 meters), Sam Brixey (men’s 60-meter hurdles) and Leonie Reuter (women’s high jump); sophomore Charisma Taylor (women’s triple jump) and freshman Kreete Verlin (women’s long jump).

Walden may be reached at (208) 848-2258, dwalden@lmtribune.com, or on Twitter at @waldo9939.