High school wrestler says he got herpes from wrestling mat

A high school wrestler is calling for the postponement of a weekend wrestling tournament, claiming he contracted herpes from a wrestling mat.

Blake Flovin, a senior at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, says he was diagnosed with herpes gladiatorum after a tournament at Independence High School last month, according to ABC7 News' Tiffany Wilson. Flovin is worried he could have spread the infection through practice sessions before he was diagnosed and wants the state tournament pushed forward until after the incubation period for the exposed athletes.

Herpes gladiatorum, a skin infection caused by the same type of herpes virus responsible for cold sores, can lie dormant for periods of time, but once infected, a person has it for their entire life.

"Either they need to be stopped from wrestling or the state tournament needs to be postponed," explained Flovin. "Just trying to prevent this disease from getting to other people."

According to ABC7 News, the California Interscholastic Federation will continue with the tournament.