Remsen St. Mary’s boys basketball team heading to state for 7th consecutive time

PONCA, Neb. (KTIV) - While the Iowa girls’ state basketball tournament is fully underway, boys squads across Siouxland are gearing up for their chance at a state title.

One team getting ready for its seventh straight journey to Des Moines is the Remsen St. Mary’s Hawks. On Thursday, they held a sendoff where members of the school and community came down to wish the team luck on their journey. The Hawks are looking forward to some big wins and a big crowd.

”We know we bring a lot of experience and a lot of games played on that court,” said Ryan Willman, a senior on the Remsen St. Mary’s Hawks Boys Basketball Team. “So, we know what it takes to win too because we’ve won a few, and we’re looking to make some noise as a 6 seed.”

“You see a lot of past alums from Remsen St. Mary’s that live down in that area that all come out to the games and support us,” said Justin Ruden, co-head coach. “We have a big fanbase for a small school, so it’s really awesome.”

The boys team will be joining the girls squad, who made the tournament this year after falling short last year. The girls won their first game last night when they took down West Fork.

School athletic staff say having two teams representing them at state is a great accomplishment.

”You dream of trying to make it one time, and now it’s become just year after year after year we’re down there,” said Jarrod Schott, Athletic Director and Assistant Boys Basketball Coach at Remsen St. Mary’s. “And the girls, I know that was a huge goal of theirs coming into this season after falling one game short last year. And for them to make it and get over the top and then win last night, was just awesome. And we had a great crowd, and I’m just really proud of the community, our girls program and our boys program.”

The 6-seeded hawks boys will take on Gladbrook-Reinbeck on Monday, March 6 at 3:45 p.m. For the girls, they’ll play again tomorrow in a semifinal matchup against top-seeded Bishop Garrigan. That game starts at 1:30 pm.

Remsen St. Mary’s is one of only five Iowa boys basketball teams to make it to the state tournament seven-plus consecutive times. The other schools include Iowa City West, Linn Marr, North Linn, and Cedar Rapids Regis.

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