The sport and the spirit

by Nina Kloss

With a finish in the top ten high school basketball teams in the state of Washington, the Prairie Falcons put a perfect exclamation mark on a successful season.
For four days, the 16 best girls and boys high school basketball teams initiated great enthusiasm for basketball in Tacoma, which is located 31 miles south-west of Seattle. This year, the young talents also induced hundreds of interested fans, reporters, and camera teams of local TV channels to come to the Tacoma Dome, where the girls and boys fought rancorously for the state champion title.
In three rounds, the youngsters played in compliance with the rules of the NBA to win through the finals. In their first game, the Prairie girls faced the Bellarmine Preparatory Lions. The players were welcomed ritualistically with the American national anthem. Before the referee whistled for the start of play, the fans’ many speaking choirs had already filled the Dome and even the spectators in the last row joined the cheerleaders’ cheers jauntily.

During the teams’ warm ups, the Pep Bands of the high schools ensured musical support for the competing teams. At American high schools “Pep Band” is offered as a regular class and can be taken instead of Physical Education, which is a requirement for two years. Students who are musically talented rehearse compositions in this class, which had especially been created for the school. The music is an additional expression of the unique school spirit at football and basketball games. Not only were the players at the peak of nervousness at the beginning of the game, but the many spectators became also excited. It took only a few seconds until the Prairie Falcons made their way to the opponent’s basket.

There had been a dead silence in the Dome, which, however, was broken through by roaring applause when the Falcons made their first hoop. It soon became obvious that Prairie dominated the game and deserved their first win with a score of 48-22.
Prairie girls coach Al Aldridge was very pleased with the job of his team: “The girls worked hard and gave their best.”
Especially the defense shone with an outstanding performance. The Bellarmine Lions were not able to score more than 9 points per quarter. With Al Aldridge as coach, the Prairie girls are trained by one of the most successful high school coaches in the state of Washington. Aldridge has many years of coaching experience and with more than 580 games won with the Prairie Falcons, he goes down in history in the state of Washington.

The boys started into the tournament as successful as the ladies did. With a final score of
70-60, they beat Garfield and made their way into the next round with all chances open.
On the second day, the girls team continued its outstanding performance. With a 54-33 victory over Snohomish, they qualified for the next round. However, this victory was connected with great losses; the already exhausted Rachel Bristow was taken ill and had to be replaced, starter Chelsea Porter had to endure great pain caused by a foot injury, and starter Ashley Corral suffered from pain in her joints, because of whom she needed to have surgery two days after the tournament.

The many weeks of hard work had also left marks of exhaustion on the boys team. Since the start of the basketball season in October, the teams have been practicing for three hours a day during the week and have also had games on the weekends. For the game against Kentridge, they lost their energy and also the game with 42 to 56 points.
For the rest of the day, the players were given some time to recover and relax. The coaches also paid special attention to the players’ nutrition and before they went to bed, the girls and boys set new goals for the next day.
The girls still had good chances to become state champion, while the boys could still qualify for the game for fourth place with another victory.
After the second game, eight teams were already eliminated from the tournament. Even though tears of disappointment were cried, the girls and boys could be proud of their achievements. In order to participate in the state championship each school had to work their hardest. Before the schools could head to Tacoma, they had to outfight other teams in their school districts. Only the two best teams of each school district qualified in the so-called districts for the state championship. While the eliminated teams went back to their school routine, the Prairie Falcons were excited for their next match.

The Prairie fan section was quickly expanding from day to day. Many students were accepting the three-hour drive to loudly support their peers. Meanwhile, the classes at PHS were shrinking to half of the normal size. Crimson and gold became the dominant colors in the Tacoma Dome.
On the third day, the boys faced the Decatur Gators. The tension rose because another loss would be the end of the tournament for the Prairie boys. After the first quarter, the Falcons were already 12 points behind. When Prairie’s Kevan West darted through the opponents’ defenders and slammed down a two-handed dunk, the Falcons found their way back into the game. Prairie cheerleaders screamed their lungs out, fans jumped out of their seats, and all of a sudden the Decatur side turned quiet. With a 59-50 victory, the boys qualified for the game for fourth place.
The girls had already been practicing since early in the morning on the courts close to their hotel to prepare for the upcoming game against the University Titans. “Remember the Titans” is not only the name of a famous movie, but also seemed to be the motto of Prairie’s third match.
While the Falcons were already weakened when they started into the game, the Titans reached their top form. With Angie Bjorklund in their squad, who is considered to be one of the top five women’s basketball players in the Class of 2007 in America, the Prairie defense was made to come out of its shell. Until the third quarter, the defenders managed this task with bravura. In the fourth quarter, however, they lost their energy once and for all and at the end of the game they were behind by 47 to 56 points. Although the dream to become state champion could no longer be reached, the team was very content with its performance. “We fought really hard all throughout the match, and played really well together as a team, lifting each other up.”, commented point guard Anna Blakeslee regarding the match.
On the last day of the state championship 2007, the Prairie girls and the Kentwood Conquerors played for third place. With a loss in their last game the Falcons ranked sixth. The boys lost their last game against the Eisenhower Cadets and finished the tournament with seventh place.

The boys lost their last game against the Eisenhower Cadets and finished the tournament with seventh place. Even though some fans did not want to believe their eyes when they saw the score, they all had the same opinion: “We obviously have the potential that is necessary to become state champion. With all the injuries and illnesses however, it seems to be cursed”, a student summarized the thoughts of the Prairie fans.
On Saturday evening, the winners were definite:
Lewis & Clark from Spokane won the state championship of the girls and the Ferris Saxons, also from Spokane, finished first out of the boys teams.
The state championship does not only offer the participating schools the opportunity to compete with other high schools from all over Washington, but also offers students the chance to catch the attention of college scouts. Representatives of colleges from all over America look for young basketball talents at tournaments of such proportions, to whom they court for their colleges by offering scholarships worth of thousands of US dollars.
Back in Vancouver, WA, the basketball teams were complimented and celebrated. The state championship was the end of the basketball season and the students went back to their daily lives. For the next season both teams have set high goals; the Prairie girls hope to continue their brilliant achievement and qualify for the state championship for the eleventh time in a row. As proven this year, the teams have the potential needed to do so.

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