The Great Northwest Athletic Conference has canceled this weekend’s conference track and field championship in Monmouth, Oregon, after a possible case of H1NI flu virus was identified on the Western Oregon campus.

The meet will not be rescheduled.

The Oregon University System and the Oregon Department of Public Health have recommended closure of the Western Oregon campus at least through Monday. Western Oregon Athletics Director Jon Carey said school President John Minahan has accepted that recommendation.

One student is believed to have contracted the disease. The student, who lives off campus, exhibited flu-like symptoms earlier this week and tested positive for influenza A at the Western Oregon Student Health Center.

The Polk (Oregon) County Health Department was notified and a specimen was sent to the State of Oregon Health Department lab. Western Oregon officials were notified Thursday that the specimen would require further testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There is a high probability that the student has (H1N1) flu,” Carey said. “He has been tested and we are waiting for confirmation of the diagnosis from the CDC. If the tests come back negative, the campus could reopen on Tuesday (May 5).”

“We believe there may be a large number of students that could have been exposed,” Carey said.

Western Oregon’s baseball team was due to play a four-game series this weekend at Central Washington in Ellensburg, and that series will not be played. Western Oregon’s scheduled four-game softball series with Western Washington in Bellingham has also been canceled.

“This is an unfortunate situation,” Great Northwest Commissioner Richard Hannan said. “But our No. 1 concern is the safety and welfare of everyone involved.”

− Courtesy GNAC Information Director Bob Guptill