Sub-State basketball tournaments are underway and by Saturday night there will be tears, sadness and shouts of joy ringing out of area basketball arenas as winners move on to the “Big One”, the State Finals! Heartbreak and sadness will be the temporary accompanying ghost of many as there is nothing left but to turn to spring sports after a painful loss. That’s the trouble with tournaments; all but one end their season on a sad note.
To win a state championship is an incredible task and, after a quick look at the record books, a rare feat for Golden Belt area teams, with the exception of the St. John Tigers. Their boys have won a remarkable five championships and are the favorites to add a sixth in 2A this year. The Lady Tigers brought home the trophy in 2009. St. John may have to add an addition to their trophy showcase!
The Great Bend boys are two-time State Champs, bringing home the first-place hardware in 2005 and 2006. The girls won it all in 1980 and fell just short in the championship game in 2009.
Larned won their one and only Boys championship in 1950, with a 48-40 win over Olathe. Interestingly, the Indians were invited as an at-large team, having lost in the Regional Finals to Hays High School, a team they had defeated two times previously. That 1950 Class A Championship tournament featured 16 teams, with two at-large teams. The at-large berths are something that the KSHSAA should consider adding to their tournaments now. It gives a team that is deserving, that gets upset in Sub-State finals, another chance.
The Lady Indians from Larned won a championship in 1991, after a one-point loss in the championship game in 1989 prevented another trophy.
The Hoisington boys “brought home the bacon” in 1946, but the Lady Cardinals have never played in a championship game.
Claflin/Central Plains knows a little something about championships. The Claflin Girls won championships in 2005 and 2006 and in 2014 as Central Plains. They are a leading contender for the championship hardware again this year but will have to get out of a strong Sub-State that also features the Ellinwood Eagles. The Lady Eagles made their one and only state-level appearance in 2006, but did not win the championship. Despite numerous appearances, the Ellinwood boys have never won a state championship in basketball.
The Macksville boys have had a tremendous run, athletically, in the years from 2000 until now. They won state basketball championships in 2006 and 2011, and made several other appearances. The Lady Mustangs from Macksville haven’t been as successful with only one appearance in state tournament action, that being in 1981.
Burdett boys won a championship in 1954 and Rozel won back to back titles in 1959 and 1960. Those two communities later merged and the school became Pawnee Heights but no championships have been won under that banner.
The Lewis Spartans boys won a state championship in 1971 but, as that school has closed, there will be no more trophies added to it.
So, now you see why, when these teams lose in Sub-State play, the tears flow. Playing in a state tournament is a privilege that not many get. Those appearances are sprinkled throughout history for all of our area schools and the championships are rarer still. They are the things legends are made of. The topic of class reunions. They are celebrated when they happen and over and over again, decades later.
Here’s hoping YOUR team wins!