Valley Heights was one of 22 schools across the State of Kansas to have both their boys and girls team compete at State in basketball action, but were one of only five of those schools that had both teams finish with top four at State.

The Mustang boys wrapped up a 23-3 season the best season in school history with wins with a third place finish in 1A-DI, while the girls took home a second place in 1A-DI showing finishing with only two losses, 24-2.

Boys started the tournament off with a matchup against Macksville and moved into the semifinals with the 67-51 win. Mustang led just 23-19 at the half but used a 44-32 second half to cruise to the win as senior, Bennett Bargdill paced the team with 19 points, hitting three three-pointers. Derek Trimble and Elijah Smith each added double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively while Macksville was just 5-21 from three-point land in the contest.

In the semifinals the Mustangs ran into tough Hoxie team who jumped on the Mustangs early leading 14-4 after the first quarter and led 22-15 at the half. Valley Heights was never about to fully overcome that deficit falling 48-43, as the Mustangs were just 2-15 from three-point land. Smith and Musil both put up double figures again scoring 13 and 11 points each.

Playing for third place the Mustangs took on Spearville and put together one of their best performances of the year to take home third place in 1A-DI beating Spearville 74-54. Mustangs galloped out to a fast start with a 23-14 first quarter and continued to cruise in the game with four guys tallying finishing with double figures. Elijah Smith continued his strong State tournament with a 19 point, showing while Musil added 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The top performances didn’t stop there as Gage Woodyard added a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Derek Trimble scored 15 points. In the contest the Mustangs shot 62.5% from the floor and had 20 assists on 30 made field goals.

With the win the Mustangs capped off a 23-3 season and finished third place in 1A-DI, adding to the regular season Twin Valley League title this year in the boys best season in school history.

The lady Mustangs continued to add to the trophy case too taking home second place in the State tournament.

Valley Heights girl’s opened the tournament topping Victoria in the first round using a 10-5 second quarter to provide an early cushion at the half leading 23-17 and extended that lead in the second half on the way to the 57-48 win. Sophomore, Brandi Jo Roepke led the way with 25 points, while Sidney Blackburn scored 16 points and Lesley Frohberg added 12 points.

In the semifinals the Mustangs took on St. Paul and led just 22-20 at the half but made some adjustments coming out of the half and used a 20-6 third quarter to provide separation to gain the 54-41 win. Blackburn led the lady Mustangs with 22 points, while Roepke scored 14 and Cassidy Coggins scored 10 points, earning the Mustangs the right to play for the 1A-DI State title against Hoxie.

The championship game started off with Hoxie posting 26 points in the first quarter to led 26-11 after one frame and that margin proved to be too much for the Mustangs to comeback from falling 71-51 to take second place in 1A-DI. Roepke led the team with 16 points, while Blackburn scored 13 points and Frohberg added 12 points.

The lady Mustang capped off their best season in school history with second place finish at 1A-DI State tournament, regular season TVL champs and TVL tournament champs while finishing 24-2 on the year.

It was a banner year for the Mustangs as they accomplished impressive feats amassing a combined record of 47-5 for the girls and boys this year.