Blake Flovin, a senior at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif, has a strange illness called "mat herpes," which he contracted in a wrestling tournament in the previous month.
He has been attempting to postpone the state championship, fearing that his virus may spread to the other contestants. "The most important thing here is kid's health and that's my main message," Flovin said. "Try and put this above everything else."
However, that was one match that he did not win, so the tournament will begin as scheduled this coming weekend.
"We are confident that our practices, along with an exhaustive medical review of this particular situation, ensure that there is no justification for concern about the spread of a contagious disease at the event," California Interscholastic Federation executive director Roger Blake said.
The condition, which physicians refer to as herpes gladiatorum is among the most common infections acquired by wrestlers. It is a treatable, yet contagious, herpes that lasts all through life and spreads through contact with infected saliva and skin.
Flovin explained how the herpes spread. "The left sides of my face by my lymph nodes started to swell" before the virus started to spread, he said.
The student is convinced that he got gladiatorum at Independence High School in San Jose.
Central Coast Section Commissioner Duane Morgan believes that the high school was not as stringent about the health protocols as it could have been.
Female competitors were not even given "skin checks," though they are normally provided to competitors by trainers. "We didn't have a trainer to get it done - no women officials who were refereeing," Morgan said, However, there have been no reports of female competitors coming down with mat herpes.
Another concern is the maintenance of cleanliness in the boys' bathroom.
"We had a custodian in there every hour mopping and cleaning things up," Morgan said. "We know it's kind of an issue, not just at Independence High. Kids don't think they can transmit some stuff to the mat surface."
However, Flovin has received a flood of support from various people, as a number of peers have contacted him about the issue.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you. How do we stand behind you and support you to postpone the tournament?" one athlete from Fremont texted him.
Flovin was touched by the response. "I've gotten a lot of supportive comments - 100%," he said.
