3A STATE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Community College campus will once again be busy this week with the return of the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) class 3A boys and girls state basketball tournaments.
The four-day event runs Wednesday, March 12 through Saturday, March 15 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. There will be four games per day, with girls playing quarterfinals Wednesday and boys on Thursday. Friday features semifinal action and then on Saturday the 3rd place games and state title games.
This year marks the 71st KSHSAA state tournament that the Hutchinson Sports Arena has hosted. The arena opened in 1952, and has hosted a tournament every year with the exception of 1973 and 1974. Overall, this will be the 82nd state tournament held in the Salt City, as 10 tournaments were hosted at Memorial Hall prior to the completion of the Sports Arena.
"It brings families, it brings students to our community," HutchCC athletic director Josh Gooch said. "They're eating in our restaurants, stay in our hotels, shop in our shops, it's larger than just our community college, although that's where the games are held at either at the Sports Arena or at Gowans Stadium. Our Visit Hutch, our collaboration with Visit Hutch, the chamber, they're a close partner with us as we navigate securing those events. We take a lot of pride in our relationship with KSHSAA."
Bill Faflick, the executive director of the KSHSAA is happy to continue the partnership with Hutchinson for the numerous sports.
"The KSHSAA is fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct championship activities in Hutchinson," Faflick said. "We make the decision to continue to host events in Hutchinson because of the people who are conducting those events. More specifically, we believe the staff at Hutchinson Community College, under the leadership of AD Josh Gooch, understand the importance of creating a championship atmosphere for students and the school communities participating in championship tournaments. Addressing an almost unending list of details, Josh and his team realize each of those items make a difference for those coming to events they host."
Whether it's state football, state basketball, or state volleyball, each event takes a village to make possible.
"With the events we host it does take everybody," Gooch said. "The facilities staff is second to none, the reason why we can turn the events and host multiple games in days is because our facilities staff is prepped and prepared or the field and the places where the patrons are, the ins and outs of the buildings and stadiums are as nice as they get anywhere you go. We've got an army of people that make these events possible. We started working on this year's state basketball tournament on January 14 when I looked back at my notes."
A repreresentative from the KSHSAA comes to Hutchinson and meets with the staff to make sure they're prepared to host.
"They go over any of the new items that might be taking place that year," Gooch said. "They also tell us some things we can improve on and things that they want to highlight that we do well. Each of my staff has different roles and the volunteers each have their own roles, as well."
One of those staff members is HutchCC sports information director Steve Carpenter. Of the many tasks Carpenter has, one is the media contact for all media attending the 3A tournament.
"I have checked on this with KSHSAA and we are by and large the most heavily covered tournament from a media standpoint," Carpenter said. "Early on, I take care of getting all of the credentials administered to and making sure we've got them all locked in for when the tournament starts."
Once the games tipoff on Wednesday, Carpenter can be found on his laptop at the table on the south side of the Sports Arena.
"You'll see me at the scorers table, myself and my stat crew, constantly running stats," Carpenter said. "This year I thought about wearing a pedometer to track my steps, because we run stats at every timeout. The stats to me are very important, because they have to be accurate, this is the one chance we get to do it. Especially if there are state records or anything, we want to make sure we are specifically accurate with that and there's no having to go back and question it. I take a lot of pride in the stats. I also help out with all of the on-table help if any troubleshooting is needed."
One thing that Faflick enjoys about the staff at HutchCC, is their willingness to run the event like a true championship culture.
"While many host sites 'turn the venue over' to state association and school staff, Josh and his team have stepped up and fill every position needed for multi-day championship tournaments in volleyball and basketball, as well as for a championship game in football," Faflick said. "The Hutchinson Community College team provides a great first impression for all stakeholders, including students, coaches, parents, administrators, media, and general spectators. Josh and his team consider the overall goal of fair play and a great experience for student athletes competing for the coveted championship, all while considering the minute details which make a huge difference for stakeholders."
There are around 100 individuals that put in countless hours to make the week happen.
"You have my staff of five," Gooch said. "Then you have 16 team hosts, people throughout the community that are the point of contact for that specific team about anything they may need from restaurants to go to or things to do, that's a tradition we've always had and that the teams coming in look forward to. Our workforce continues with the facilities crew and it doesn't end when people leave the venue, they're still working. We also have ball help to make sure the proper balls are out for the girls and the boys. Then we have concessions help, a lot of our Blue Dragon student-athletes that are on work-study help with that. Ticket takers and ticket sellers, we have to have people getting patrons in and out of the facility. We have a pass gate where all the members that are participating are going in. Merchandise booth, hospitality room, the scorers table, the officials, the awards presenters, there are a lot of people that make this tournament possible."
One thing that will be new at this year's tournament is the Hutch Madness Trivia game, which is a special engagement with Visit Hutch. There is a QR code that will be put on the video board and you scan it where each game there will be trivia and then it'll keep track of your points and you'll have an opportunity to win prizes from area businesses.