BY JIM MISUNAS
CLAFLIN – The highlight of Toby Holmes’ coaching career was a preview of upcoming achievements. Holmes coached the Claflin Wildcats to the school’s first-ever girls state basketball championships in 2005 and 2006.
Holmes’ second crowning achievement was convincing a reluctant Pat Stiles to succeed him as head girls basketball coach at Central Plains.
The rest of this story is state basketball history.
Fifteen years after Claflin’s two state titles, Central Plains owns a record-tying six consecutive state basketball championships under coach Pat Stiles.
The Wildcats won back-to-back championships (2005-2006) while qualifying for the state basketball tournament four consecutive times. Holmes coached track, football and basketball at Gorham, Grinnell and Deerfield before starting at Claflin in 2001.
“When you coach, even at the junior high level, you imagine what it would be like to someday coach a state championship team,” Holmes said. “Winning a state title is a unique life-long feeling that comes right after my wedding day and the birth of your children. It’s a special memory that never gets old. When I see photos or see players who competed, I remember that special time. That always stays with you.”
The 2003-2004 Claflin Wildcats set the stage for school history when they beat Sedan 54-52 at the 2A state tournament. Shaylee Lehning led the state champion Sublette Larks past Claflin 65-47 in the 2A semifinals. Claflin dropped to 1A when Lehning averaged 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead Sublette to back-to-back 2A titles in 2005.
Claflin featured two key seniors Christina Kinzel and Sara Debes on a junior-dominated team in 2004-2005.
“Christina was our unsung standout who rebounded and defended,” Holmes said. “Christina played hard and was our team motivator. Sara Debes could score anytime, but played so unselfish, she’d defer to her teammates.”
The junior trio of Roxanne Stiles, Kayla Klug and Amanda Prosser were Claflin’s leaders for two consecutive years.
“It’s a group that was extremely talented in the classroom, as well on the court,” Holmes said. “It was a group that made plays that we didn’t coach because they’d played basketball together since third grade.”
The Wildcats hit their stride in 1A postseason, winning every game by double digits. The Wildcats defeated Jetmore 68-39, Greensburg 50-30 and Wetmore 68-54 to capture the 1A state championship at Hays.
“It was a tribute to our team for playing the game the right way,” Holmes said. “When we played our 2-3 zone defense, all five players moved together. We pressed and played fast, which played to our strength.”
Holmes and coach Stiles emphasized fundamentals and working together in an unselfish style.
“We always tried to play the game the right way,” Holmes said. “We were amazed by how well the girls performed when they started playing for each other and working together. They were able to take their game to the next level.”
The talented LaCrosse Leopards beat Claflin 68-63 to hand the Wildcats their only loss in a 26-1 season.
“LaCrosse was the best team we played that year,” Holmes said. “They celebrated like they’d won the state tournament when they beat us.”
With a senior trio of Roxanne Stiles, Kayla Klug and Amanda Prosser returning, the Wildcats were well prepared to see every team's best game in 2005-2006.
“As a defending state champion, we knew every team
would give Claflin their best shot,” Holmes said. “As a defending state
champion, there's a target on your back. The girls answered that challenge. They
won big road games and performed really well all season.”
St. John provided the Wildcats with a dose of reality
with a dominating 60-48 victory which clinched the Central Prairie League
basketball title.
“St. John had a good team and featured a really good
player in Beth Cornwell,” Holmes said. “It was one of those tough nights. The
girls were pretty upset. But we reminded them that we’d lost a game the year
before and won the state title. They never let that game define their season.
The girls came back and played really good basketball.”
The Wildcats dominated Pike Valley 44-17, Golden Plains 54-45 and Greensburg 47-35 to capture the 1A state championship at Hays.
“It’s hard to win one state title, let along two,” Holmes said. “It was a team that learned to trust each other because they’d played basketball together for a long time. They played like they were on a mission because their game intensity was really good."
The trio of Roxanne Stiles, Kayla Klug and Amanda Prosser played spectacular postseason basketball.
Stiles scored 24 points against Pike Valley. Stiles (20), Klug (20) and Prosser (11) combined for 51 of 54 points against Golden Plains. Klug (13), Stiles (13) and Prosser (12) were equally effective against Greensburg, combining for 38 of Claflin's 47 points.
“Those girls took what the defense gave them, and that came from playing together,” Holmes said. “It was a culmination of a lot of hard work.”
Holmes said the Wildcats improved their defensive from the previous year, yielding 30 points per game in postseason play. Golden Plains (45) was the only postseason team to score more than 40 points.
“Golden Plains was a pretty good basketball team, maybe the best we played in postseason,” Holmes said. “We did a really good defensive job defending their best scorer.”
The Wildcats finished with a 26-1 record and Holmes was named overall state Coach of the Year by the Topeka Capital Journal.
“I never would’ve dreamed that would’ve happened,” he said.
Holmes led the newly-named Central Plains Oilers to fourth place at 2A in 2012, the first year of consolation with Quivira Heights High School. The Thunderbirds won a total of seven state titles in volleyball, football, boys golf and track before merging with Claflin High School.
“One of the hardest things I accomplished was convincing Pat Stiles to continue building what we had accomplished with the girls basketball program at Claflin,” Holmes said. “We agreed that he needed to continue what we had built. Pat is one of the state’s best basketball coaches. I never doubted he would do great things.”
Pat Stiles has led the Oiler girls to a state record 136 consecutive victories and six consecutive state basketball titles. The Oilers are 176-1 over the past seven seasons. Stiles’ record is 201-4 over eight seasons.
2004-2005 CLAFLIN ROSTER—Sara Debes, Carolyn Hekele, Kelsey Hickel, Samantha Hickel, xChristina Kinzel, Megan Kirmer, Jessica Klug, Kayla Klug, Amanda Prosser, Melissa Schartz, Roxanne Stiles, Breanne Steinert
2004-2005 CLAFLIN POSTSEASON—Claflin 69-49 Quivira Heights; Claflin 72-60 Victoria; Claflin 54-43 Tribune Greeley County; Claflin 56-36 Agra Eastern Heights; Claflin 68-39 Jetmore; Claflin 50-30 Greensburg; Claflin 68-54 Wetmore
2005-2006 CLAFLIN ROSTER—Kelsey Hickel, Samantha Hickel, Monica Hertach, Megan Kirmer, Jessica Klug, Kayla Klug, Emily Oberle, Amanda Prosser, Melissa Schartz, Elisha Stephens, Roxanne Stiles, Natalie Zink
2005-2006 CLAFLIN POSTEASON—Claflin 42-29 Otis-Bison; Claflin 51-32 Quivira Heights; Claflin 56-38 Northern Valley; Claflin 50-37 Brewster; Claflin 44-17 Pike Valley; Claflin 54-45 Golden Plains; Claflin 47-35 Greensburg
