Props for Benton (student body: 86) for WIAA Div. IV title

[RU Rah Rah]

I live in Madison, and just randomly took my kids to the Kohl Center to see one of the WIAA hoops title games today. We wound up watching Benton v. Assumption in Division IV. I really am not familiar with either school, but we would up sitting in the Benton section, so I told my kids that we had to root for "the green team."

 

From talking to some people sitting around us (who seemed pretty happy to have extra fans on hand), we wound learning some interesting stuff about Benton. I know that all of the schools in this division are tiny, but I didn't realize that this student body of this school is 86. (I teach a single course this semester with more than twice that many kids.) Basketball is the only winter sport for boys.

 

I think pretty much the entire town was in the Kohl Center for the game. Pretty cool for them to win the title.

[hawing]

I took Friday off to attend the D-4 and D-2 semifinals, in part specifically to see Benton, which was my brother's first teaching school out of college. This year's seniors have been playing together most of their childhood, and set the goal of a state title when they were in fifth grade. They are in the same sectional as perennial power Randolph, but someone else managed to beat the Rockets before Benton met them in yet another sectional final.

 

I do not have a keen "basketball mind", but I try to take a day off every year for the state tournament, because I enjoy the atmosphere - especially for the small schools, where not only the whole school but the whole town seemingly shows up to root for their kids. Seriously, on Friday the green Benton section took up more space in the morning than the red and white Monroe (D-2) section took up in the afternoon.

 

At the risk of sounding hokey, it's such a special time for the participants and their families/friends/towns. The Benton team's efforts will be remembered for a long time. That's an upbeat type of drama I can't resist. Congratulations, Zephyrs!

[bensheeps]

Teaching and coaching in a district near Benton gave me the opportunity to see them play a few times over the last couple of years. As good as they are at basketball, Coach Blaine and his players were even better at being "classy". Seeing them win a gold ball and being rewarded for doing things the right way reminds me why I coach high school sports.

[lodiness]

I work at the Kohl Center, I only saw bits and pieces of the game, but they looked pretty impressive. Then I saw the enrollment of the school, and all I could think was wow. The coach seemed to be a class act.

[davego]

Was there on Saturday. All the games were fun, but D-4 is usually pretty cool as most of the towns seem to turn out.