Knights welcomed back with Class 3A second-place trophy
Story on the Journal Star Web site
By RIYA V. ANANDWALA
Journal Star
Posted Mar 21, 2010 @ 03:33 PM
Last update Mar 21, 2010 @ 08:41 PM
PEORIA — The Knights may not have won the Class 3A boys basketball championship, but earning second place was a good reason for supporters to affectionately welcome home the team Sunday afternoon at Richwoods High School.
Richwoods lost 58-55 to Country Club Hills Hillcrest in the championship game Saturday at Carver Arena. The Knights also won second place in 1992 and again in 2006.
As the players, coaches and cheerleaders paraded across town on a firetruck from the Gateway Building to the Northmoor Road school, supporters honked, cheered, clapped and shouted out well-wishes.
Peggie Sanders of Peoria, whose daughters attend Richwoods, said, “It is exciting for the school, exciting for the city. The players show excellent sportsmanship and they represent the school very well.”
Torrance Evans, 18, is one of the seven seniors on the team. “It’s real fun, celebration kind of a day,” he said Sunday, reminiscing about all the practice and hard work. He contemplated the sacrifices he made, such as the “girls, just having fun.” But at the end of the day, he said it was all worth it.
Richwoods senior Abby Klaus, 17, said she is a huge fan of the team and has been to many of its games. The state tournament will be one of her more memorable high school moments, she said Sunday.
Her friend Jenny O’Brien, 18, a freshman at Bradley University, said she was a little disappointed that the team didn’t win the championship, but appreciated the dedication and hard work that the boys had put in.
“They deserved it,” she said. Being friends with some of the players, she knew “how bad they wanted it.”
The ceremony started at 1 p.m. with the band welcoming the team and the cheerleaders. Coach Mike Ellis thanked the team and all the supporters. He shed tears while acknowledging his family’s support.
The team’s success this year keeps the dream alive for future Richwoods basketball players to reach the top, he said.
The players were introduced in a special way. Ellis wanted to show the boys how far they have come, so at the beginning of postseason play he asked each of them to bring in their most treasured basketball award to date.
On Sunday he carried a big box to the stage and handed out those old prizes, their “claims to fame.”
Sophomore Nico Lampkins, 17, who is on the team but didn’t play this season, said the other players inspire him.
This was quite a year for assistant coach Robert Foster, who has been coaching the seniors from the time they were freshmen.
“That’s just a special group,” said Foster. “It means a lot.”