Eight Capital Region high school basketball teams had made it to their respective classes' Final Fours in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships this weekend. The 15 boys final four and championship games were played at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens falls starting on Friday. The 15 games for the girls were played at Hudson Valley Community College, Friday through Sunday.
No offense to the fine people of Binghamton but the New York State Public High School Athletic Association boys basketball championship is back where it belongs, Glens Falls. The championship left the north country for the southern tier in 2017. A few years and a pandemic later, the boys are back home at the Cool Insuring Arena. The girls basketball championships continue to enjoy the awesome facilities at Hudson Valley Community College. Let's take a look at which Section II teams are playing this weekend.
The Section 2 girls basketball champions have been crowned. Up next will be completing the dream of winning a state championship. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has set the brackets. Let's see who, when and where are the Capital Region girls high school basketball champions going.
The high school basketball season can be long and grueling from November through March. Now add the lose and go home stress of any sectional tournament, and the result will be a ton of ups and downs. There are amazing accomplishments that haven't happened in 55 years and tremendous disappoints for teams that were basically expected to win. These boys and girls are 15 to 18 years old. When you get to this stage of the season, these student-athletes, along with their dedicated coaches have put a lot into their season. It means more.
The one of the best things for high school student-athletes is getting to compete for your school against the next town over or a long-time rival. Numerous times, athletes from different schools have talked to me about their moms and dads competing against those same schools and therefore passing down the rivalry. Friday night, we start to get into the meat of the high school basketball season with plenty of those rivalries on local courts.
If you're especially bold, you can make a prediction in your high school yearbook. The difference with Jack Paris, however, is that he got his correct.
Yesterday, Thursday, November 12th, Superintendent Dr. Franchini announced that Averill Park High School would go to all remote learning until after Thanksgiving break after nine total students and teachers tested positive.