Across Kansas, vying for that ‘one shining moment’
March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year. Like many of you, I get pulled into the stories of underdog collegiate teams beating the big name schools and love watching these stories unfold.
As an appetizer to the NCAA’s Big Dance, last week I attended a few games of the Kansas 2A State Basketball Tournament in Manhattan. For the uninitiated, the 2A classification reflects a tier of 64 schools with grades 9 to 12 enrollments from 92 to 156 students. For kids from these smaller towns—many of which are quite rural—what an amazing feeling it must be to travel to Manhattan and play in Kansas State University’s Bramlage Coliseum.
As a small town kid myself, I just love the excitement, camaraderie and pride these schools and communities have in their youth. Not just the basketball teams—but the pep band and the cheerleaders, too. State basketball is simply a great representation of community pride. I’m especially partial to the rural communities, even more so if it’s been a while since they’ve been to the big dance.
For three small schools, the 2018 State Tournament was their first: Hartford, in the 1A Division 2 girls tournament; Rawlins County (in the town of Atwood) in the 1A Division 1 boys tournament and the West Elk boys, from the town of Howard, making it to the 2A bracket.
And while Claflin is no stranger to basketball success as the home of Jackie Stiles, legendary guard for the then Claflin High School, later the Southwest Missouri Bearcats and Women’s National Basketball Association, the school now known as Central Plains is proudly sending both boys and girls teams to the 2A tournament this year with identical 23-0 records.
What dreams are made of
For my money, however, the best story is that of Moscow, which enters the Kansas state tournament for the first time since 1978. Imagine the sendoff these kids received when they left their town in southwest Kansas (population 300) for the bright lights of the United Wireless Arena in Dodge City. It’s not quite Hoosiers—but not far off, either; Moscow has but 57 kids in grades 9 to 12.
“Our community is excited,” Principal Tina Salmans told me in a phone interview last week. “The hub of our town is the school. It’s nice to see the support the community is giving us, but it’s also nice for the school to give back to the community for everything they do for us.”
School pride runs deep in rural communities, and Salmans said it was great to feel the energy and positive vibe in the school and around town. Seemingly everyone is wearing a Moscow Wildcats T-shirt, and the little kids in school are caught up in the frenzy, dreaming of what they can accomplish when they are in high school, she said.
Moscow won the state basketball, football and track titles in 1978, but this is the first time the school has had postseason success since then. At this writing, the outcome is not yet known—but in state basketball, anything can happen. Moscow’s tournament team has some solid athletes, with five seniors and a deep bench, said Salmans, who is also the school’s activities director.
But most importantly, the team—and the school—is made up of great kids, many of whom are on the Honor Roll, participate in a number of school activities and are role models for other kids.
Whether they win or lose, what more can you ask than that?
Bill Spiegel can be reached at 785-587-7796 or [email protected].
