You have to feel for this kid; a South Bay high school wrestler says he contracted herpes from the mats and now he’s trying to protect others.

Blake Flovin tells ABC 7 News he was diagnosed with herpes gladiatorum, caused by the herpes virus.

Flovin thinks he contracted the virus while wrestling at a tournament at Independence High School in San Jose last month and now he’s concerned he could’ve spread the infection to other wrestlers during recent practice sessions.

Flovin wants officials to postpone this weekend’s state tournament until the incubation period for the athletes exposed to the virus is over, but the California Interscholastic Federation says the tournament will go on, per national protocol, and doctors will be on hand.  School officials say wrestlers must pass a skin inspection before stepping onto the mats.

But Flovin feels otherwise.  “Either they need to be stopped from wrestling or the state tournament needs to be postponed. Just trying to prevent this disease from getting to other people,” he says.

“Kids going to the state tournament, if it’s to goes on, they should know about the risks of this and what they could be exposed to,” Flovin’s mother, Rena, says.

Herpes gladiatorum is a lifelong infection that can flare up after the initial outbreak.

It’s prevalent in the wrestling community.

*photos in gallery above*

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