It was quite the season for Tommie Kunst Junior High School’s seventh grade boys’ basketball team, which won the school its first ever boys league championship title on Dec. 13.
It had been a long time coming, according to coach Kevin Smith, who said the girls’ basketball teams have won a few championships since the school opened in 2004. The boys’ team, however, kept falling a little short.
But this year, Smith said his team was made up of kids who all grew up together, and they were eager to learn, improve, and easy to coach.
“They’re just such nice kids,” Smith said, “so it makes it easy.”
The team’s relentless defensive skills and quick feet helped them end the season with 15 wins and only one loss. Now students Dylan Cherry, Alex Garcia, Elias Giddings, Zachary Saucedo, Devon Bonds, Dylan Bonds, David Ruelas, Michael Aragon, Ramon Cota, Jarell White, Daniel Ruiz-Ortiz, Felipe Ramirez, and Inderveer Toor can call themselves champions.
This article appears in Dec 20-27, 2018.