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SPORTS
Owen
County girls open 8th Region All A Classic at 7 tonight against
Williamstown at Eminence High School
Basketball
Rebels
face tough test
Girls
have found success in Class A
Sports
Briefs
A
title for everyone
On
the Sidelines
Tim
Mandell
What I found most interesting about high school sports in Kentucky
when I moved here in the summer of 2004, was the one true champion
in sports such as basketball, soccer and baseball.
I had never heard of that before.
In fact, where I first started writing sports in New Mexico, it
was the complete opposite.
As I was leaving in the summer of 1999, New Mexico was in the
process of expanding to five classifications.
Which is fine in most states, but not in New Mexico.
With only about 100 high schools in the whole state, this system
is ridiculous.
In some of the sports that Los Alamos High School (the school
our paper covered) currently competes in there are as few as 19
teams in the entire state.
That means, if you play for the Los Alamos High School volleyball
team, you’re already the 19th best team in the state, at
worst.
New Mexico was also in the process of adding a playoff system
when I left.
Before, the top two teams automatically advanced to state, but
since Class 3A, which Los Alamos was in then, only had five or
six districts (the northwestern teams didn’t compete in
every sport), that meant between 10-12 teams advanced to state.
There was a pre-playoff on a Saturday to reduce the number of
teams to eight, then the the following week the state tournament
was held from Thursday to Saturday.
When I took a job at the Citrus County Chronicle in Florida, I
learned of the playoff system, where 32 teams make the state playoffs
and they have a tournament, like March Madness, which I have always
found to be the most exciting of all sports playoffs.
I loved this playoff system.
It was fun watching teams try to reach the playoffs, then try
to advance to the finals, needing five wins to be state champion.
Then, I moved to Kentucky.
My wife, who’s from Cynthiana, has always told me about
her senior year when the 1995-96 Harrison County High School basketball
team went to the Sweet 16.
She still wears a shirt from the tournament.
But I didn’t think it was a big deal.
I mean, we had Sweet 16 teams every year, in just about every
sport, at the Chronicle.
I didn’t get it.
Then I realized that Harrison County didn’t advance to the
Sweet 16 of Class A or AA or AAA or AAAA.
They were among the 16 best teams in the entire state.
Once this sunk in, I realized how special it was to reach that
far.
How unique it is.
For some time the debate has been going on in Kentucky about public
schools versus private schools.
But pushing all the private schools away won’t help Owen
County win a state championship.
Lexington Catholic and Louisville Trinity and St. Xavier will
just be replaced by the big public schools.
I love one classification and crowning one state champion, to
be able to say you’re the best team in the state, regardless
of class.
That’s why I also love the All A Classic.
It allows the smaller schools, like Owen County, a chance to compete
for a state championship.
Maybe it’s not as recognized as the Sweet 16, but for the
little schools, this is the big dance.
That’s why it’s so great.
And tonight, the Owen County girls team gets its shot at reaching
state when the Region 8 tournament kicks off.
Next week is the boys regional tournament.
And within a few weeks, a pair of state champs will be crowned,
even though the basketball season is far from over.
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