Life as state champs grand for Warriors

March 30. 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz

Frontiersman

WASILLA - Life has been good for the members of the Wasilla High School boys and girls basketball teams.

Days after the school's historic double victory - in which both varsity squads earned large-school state championships - the Wasilla athletes are still enjoying the spoils of their victory.

On Wednesday, the teams gathered with members of the WHS administration and the Mat-Su School District for a pizza lunch.

The players autographed Wasilla jerseys and basketballs that are soon to be displayed in the Wasilla Museum.

The afternoon was just part of the tremendous reception the Warrior athletes have been receiving.

&#8220It's a good feeling,” said Wasilla senior Logan Williams, who helped lead the Warrior boys to a title win over Valley-rival Colony. &#8220I thought it might last a couple days, but it hasn't really died off.”

During the lunch, Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax rattled off a list of events on the post-championship schedule to a group of her seniors.

Senior Anne Wesser said the list includes stops at the Wasilla Senior Center and a school board meeting.

&#8220We just listen to Hebert say, ‘go here, go there;,” Wesser said.

Meanwhile, the Warrior athletes are still just beginning to realize they are in fact state champions.

&#8220It's kind of hard to think about,” Wesser said. &#8220It takes a while for the effect of it to sink in.”

Wasilla made history by earning the two titles.

The boys team won its first state title in program history, in the first all-Valley championship matchup in the history of the state tournament.

It marked only the second time a Wasilla High boys squad won a state title. The Warrior wrestling team won three consecutive state crowns from 2004-2006.

The girls won for the second time in school history, exactly 25 years after the program's first title.

It's also only the third time a Wasilla girls' squad won a state title. In addition to the basketball championships, Wasilla also has a volleyball state championship banner hanging in its gym.

The Wasilla teams have also been invited to a Wasilla city council meeting, activities director Paul Cossette said. Word is, the athletes will also be honored by Gov. Sarah Palin, a member of the Wasilla girls' 1982 state championship team.

Cossette said the reception of the community has been incredible, and in a way, he is not surprised.

&#8220There's a strong sense of pride and ownership in what happens here,” Cossette said. &#8220This is what this community does, and everyone shares in it.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.