EAST LANSING — The NCAA's recent ruling that all spring sport athletes would be able to apply for an extra year of eligibility after seasons were halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic was a widely-praised solution to an unprecedented situation – especially for seniors.

But for many student-athletes, the decision on whether to pursue another year isn't so simple.

Michigan State track and field fifth-year seniors Winter Romeyn and Karrigan Smith both could get one more year of eligibility after their running careers ended prematurely. But both have decided to move on.

Romeyn accepted a job with Nike in Beaverton, Oregon, as a procurement analyst after graduating with a degree in applied engineering.

Smith, who starred in high school at St. Johns, has been accepted into Baylor's college of medicine to pursue a masters degree.

"I definitely went through a period of denial where I was just expecting coach to email us and say, 'Hey, just kidding! April Fools early' or something," said Smith about hearing the news that the remainder of the season had been canceled. "The moment it happened I was devastated ... that's probably the biggest word to describe it: devastation."

"I'd be lying if I didn't think about what it would look like if I came back," Romeyn said. "Just talking to other athletes in the same position. It helps me give me some solace, people across the nation, seniors feel the same way."

Romeyn got the news when he was at the track, training for what would be his final year competing in the steeplechase.

"It really was the last time training as a Division I athlete," Romeyn said about what turned out to be his final practice. "Me and the other fifth year, Matthew Thomas, ran one more 400 ... just for kicks. I guess."

Thomas is also not applying for another year. He has accepted a job with Dell.

"As I've walked away from it a little and been able to digest it," said Smith, who was All-Big Ten in indoor track last season. "Through the course of a lot of lonely runs, I just kind of realized that, you know, this is for the greater good of everybody else. It makes it a little more bearable."

Game over: MHSAA cancels remainder of sports seasons due to coronavirus

Annie Fuller, who has been an All-American for MSU in cross country the past two seasons, doesn't know what her plan is. Like fellow teammates Morgan Beadlescomb and Smith, the Olympic trials are still on the table now that they've been moved to June 2021.

'Do you put your life on hold?'

Fuller is back home now. Just like many of her teammates, they all still run. It keeps them sane after having their seasons taken away so abruptly.

Her and Beadlescomb were preparing in New Mexico for the NCAA Division I indoor track and field championships when they got the news.

"It made it really emotional," said Fuller. "I called my parents and just broke down."

"It was definitely a shock," said Beadlescomb, who is a junior, when he got the news. "It's bigger than just athletes."

Beadlescomb will be back, but his friend, Romeyn, who called him as soon as he got the news won't be.

RELATED:NCAA grants waiver for all spring-sports athletes to receive extra year of eligibility

"Do you put your life on hold to run? Or do you move on with your life?" Fuller asked.

It's a question athletes all across the country are facing.

"The hardest part has been being away from my teammates and not being able to see them and kind of go through this with them ... because they are really the only people who know how I feel," Smith said.

Contact Joe Dandron at jdandron@lsj.com or (517) 377-1065. Follow him on Twitter @JosephDandronMI.