On June 19 Kingsburg High School Boys Basketball won the 2021 CIF SoCal Boys Basketball Division 5-A Championship. In the final seconds, Colby Charles’ “buzzer beater” broke the tie game, and the Vikings won 62-59. How did these young athletes feel about their win, especially during a year of Covid restrictions? Here are the words of some coaches and players.
Jordan Mehta:
This season has been an unbelievable example of what happens when you keep working hard amongst adversity and trials. The boys on this team never quit even when there was many opportunities to do so. They were determined to make this a special year and that it was. This season has been something that they will treasure and remember for the rest of their lives. I’m just honored to have the opportunity to coach them and so proud of each and every one of them.
Todd Esajian:
What an amazing night! As a basketball player growing up in a football town I am so proud of this team for winning Kingsburg its first state championship! A huge shout out to Philip Bergstrom for allowing me to be a part of this historic season! This is such a great group of men and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these guys! Todd Esajian
Conner McFall:
“I think we all knew we were good enough to win state. Kingsburg High is a basketball school now.”
Matthew Ruegge:
“It was an interesting year; I always expected to have the highest success for our teams. It took lots of determination and gratitude. This experience impacted me in a way because I just don’t take anything for granted. It can be taken away in a second. I want Kingsburg to know that this achievement is how it’s going to be from here on out… lots of winning, and Kingsburg being known as a basketball town.”
Nate Towsley:
“I was confident this team would be successful. It’s been a blessing to even get a season. I hope that with this experience future teams can maintain the same environment that my teammates, coaches, and I have created during my time at KHS.”
Gavin Gonzales:
“This year our team believed that we could go as far as possible. And look what happened! We play with dawg mentality every game and achieved greatness as a team. All for the town of Kingsburg!”
Colby Charles:
“This season was amazing and I expected to go this far. Our team had a lot of buy-in and willingness to work hard and learn daily.”
Noah Brown:
“It took showing up every day and giving it our best. We kept pushing each other when it was really hard to put in the hard work. That’s what it took.”
Gannon Cox:
“It just feels great. Some guys on our team had to give up other sports due to Covid, but our sacrifices paid off greatly.”
Jose Martinez:
“We started our season 0-4, along with a week of quarantine after a couple of Covid cases. From there we went on to win 12 straight games, and are now part owners of Washington Union High School. This showed me that that you always experience failure on your way to success.”
Josh Bennett:
“At the beginning of the season, I definitely expected to win Valley. Once we lost those first four games it took a lot of perseverance to understand that this goal was still well within reach. Winning State however, was something that was just a cherry on top.”
Rickey Duarte:
“Going into the season we knew what we were capable of with all the talent we had on the team. Talent along with everyone being committed to getting better everyday helped us achieve our ultimate goal of a state championship.”
Congratulations to The Kingsburg High Boys Basketball Team, and all the students who succeeded despite Covid restrictions. You made the KHS 2020-21 school year a success.
