March Madness comes to local high school

By Rob Vogt
March Madness was not exclusively for college gymnasiums across the United States.
A version of the basketball classic came to Willow Creek Composite High School during the month of March.
Organized by the students of the Physical Education 30 leadership class, the tournament started with the “Snake Draft” on Feb. 28.
The physical education students were all team captains and they took turns drafting from a pool of 78 students from Grades 7 to 12 and three staff members.
The teams were divided into pools and the first games tipped off on March 4.
March Madness pool play took place at noon hour four days a week with each game consisting of two 10-minute halves in running time. The clock did stop in the last minute of each half.
Each team had to have two junior high players on the floor at all times with a minimum of five minutes playing time.
Students also officiated the games, and they were streamed online over lunch hour.
“It was completely student driven,” said Jill Klapp, assistant principal at the school.
The league commissioner was Avery Toone and the teams were:
• “Streetball Titans”, captained by Spencer Cooper;
• “Ragin’ Dunks”, captained by Jack Kitchen;
• “The BBC” or “Ben’s Basketball Club”, captained by Ben Baker;
• “Lucas Fan Club”, captained by Tyce DeJong;
• “Merrik’s Basketball Team”, captained by Merrik Whelan;
• “Caseoh Elite”, captained by Blake Davis;
• “Klapp Basketball Club”, captained by Cass Klapp;
• “The Commandments”, captained by Moses Smith.
The final was held on Thursday, March 28 between “The BBC” and “Lucas Fan Club”.
When the dust settled, “The BBC” came from behind to win the inaugural March Madness.
For their efforts, the champions were presented championship rings purchased by the Sports Society.