Dealing with injuries is one thing.

Being forced to overcome a highly infectious and contagious skin condition is another.Unfortunately, that's the position the Northwestern wrestling team has been in throughout most of this season. The Tigers have dealt with an outbreak of impetigo, a bacterial infection obtained through broken skin, that has ravaged their lineup."It has definitely had a major impact on our season," said Northwestern coach Jim Moll. "The holes that it has caused in our lineup have been tough to overcome."We've really just had to focus on the bouts that we can wrestle. That is all we can do. We are getting most of our guys back at this point, but some have missed significant time."Due to wrestling's constant skin-to-skin contact, the risk of obtaining such an infection is always prevalent.While Moll and his staff have always taken measures to prevent such an outbreak, the coach admitted that the rash of cases this season have made the program alter its procedures for treating such issues."Jason Zimmerman, our athletic director, did a great job heading the effort to get this under control," Moll said. "He put some new procedures in place to keep it from spreading any more. He brought our athletic trainer, Jim Reidy, in to help with the skin checks so that we can catch any skin issues a little sooner. He can certainly diagnose a skin issue better than our coaching staff."Jason also ordered us a new mopping system for our mats, and had us work closely with the custodial staff to ensure we clean our practice areas with a disinfecting agent and a cleaning agent. The new cleaning process certainly is more time consuming, but our managers have done a great job with the new routine. They were a great help in getting our practice area cleaned up."That collaboration has extended to more closely monitoring the wrestlers on a regular basis to ensure that they are progressing properly in their recovery."Another procedure that Jason (Zimmerman) put in place to prevent any skin issues from spreading is to have trainer (Jim) Reidy clear any wrestler prior to them returning to practice or competition," Moll said. "All PIAA wrestlers are required to be treated and cleared by a doctor prior to being able to participate, however the doctor is not at practice to see how well it has healed. The doctor assumes that after so many days of treatment the issue will be healing, and will no longer be contagious."The trainer can examine it daily to make sure it is not spreading. That played an important role in keeping it contained to the five student-athletes that were being treated."Typically after one or two days of treatment, the infection becomes non-contagious, with the sores disappearing in about a week of starting treatment.Panther Valley, which also had a case of impetigo earlier this season, can relate to what the Northwestern team is going through."Unfortunately, it's part of sports," said Panthers' coach Tim Robb. "Wrestling happens to be a sport where every aspect has to do with skin-to-skin contact. Many athletes get impetigo, ringworm, folliculitis or HSV, but no sport does more to monitor it than wrestling."We are, and have been for years, very precautious. Mats get cleaned regularly and kids are told to shower after practice. We have cream that we use before tournaments and our custodians fog our wrestling room every week or two to kill any harmful bacteria, virus, or mold. Our administration and custodial staff do a great job for us."And it is that kind of group effort that has helped Northwestern overcome a potentially serious condition without any further problems."It really takes a team effort to get a highly contagious issue like impetigo under control," Moll said.*****CLINCHED...Northern Lehigh is the first TIMES NEWS area team to have secured a spot in this year's Class AA District 11 Duals, which are set to begin in just a few weeks. The Bulldogs are currently fourth in the Class AA standings with an 11-6 record.*****GOOD STANDING?...While Northern Lehigh has locked up its spot, Palmerton, Lehighton, Jim Thorpe and Panther Valley are on the fringe in the standings. Lehighton is ninth at 8-8; Palmerton is 10th at 6-6; Panther Valley is 11th at 5-7; and Jim Thorpe is 13th at 6-7. Obtaining the lowest seed in the tournament will likely mean a matchup with powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic, which is 7-0 this season. In Class AAA, Pleasant Valley is currently 15th at 10-9.