After Saturday night’s big game vs. Redmond at Tumwater High School with a final score of 57-51, OHS’ Boys Basketball team will head to state for the fifth consecutive year.
Following a solid performance vs. Redmond in a loser-out game, Olympia will play Kentwood on Wednesday at 9 pm in the Tacoma Dome. Olympia played Kentwood just two games ago in the district tournament at Federal Way High School in a very back-and-forth game Kentwood won in overtime 51-42.
A year ago this week, the boys made an incredible run to the state championship where they fell 43-49 to the Curtis Vikings. Matt Lindblom explained, “Part of our team’s motto this year was, ’So what, now what,’ partly referring to last year’s finish and the question of what are we going to do this year. What would be our story? Going into this year, we would hear of people saying that Olympia would be down and not as good.”
Lindblom emphasized the Bears’ legacy: “After an undefeated regular season in leagues, I think people started to realize that we would do anything to win. If there was a single message that we would be trying to send to people after last year, it would be that Olympia belongs in the Tacoma Dome. Year after year, we have proven that and it has become almost an unwritten standard in our program.”
Seniors Sam Schilter and Drew Carlson are down to their last few games with the program, “I am grateful for the opportunity to play with these guys and it has been a huge blessing to be a part of this program. We are not done yet and we still have a point to prove during this tournament,” Schilter concluded.
With a jam-packed rooter bus, an excited student section, and a point to prove, Wednesday night should be a good one. Make sure to be there or be square, Bears!
