Kia AutoSport Athletes of the Week: Pacelli Girls & Boys Basketball win historic first State Championships
Columbus, Ga. – The first Saturday in March was a record setting day for both Pacelli School basketball teams. In just one day the Pacelli girls and boys basketball teams captured the GIAA State Championships! The Lady Vikings basketball team was once an after thought. Things are vastly different now under head coach Bryant Thomas. Last year the Pacelli Girls Basketball team made it to the Elite 8 round of the playoffs. This year the Lady Vikings took down top ranked George Walton Academy 47-38, and the team is still on Cloud 9.
“Man it was amazing! Just all the hard work that we put into the program that last two years. Then the work we put in this year, and the girls fought hard. We fought very hard to win that State Championship for the first time,” said Pacelli Girls Basketball head coach Bryant Thomas.
The Lady Vikings also won it all with a very young team with freshmen and 8th graders on their roster. The young Lady Vikings understand the gravity of reaching the Mountain Top and also enjoyed proving people wrong.
“It was special, especially as an 8th grader,” said 8th grade point guard and shooting guard Grace Smith.
“It was a great feeling being a State Champion for my first year at this school. We’re not just a private school and we can do the same thing any other school can do,” said freshman point and shooting guard Kimora Jones.
The Pacelli Boys Basketball team took down Loganville Christian 44-31. This team was a far cry from the state of the program when head coach Corry Black was hired. At one point the Vikings basketball team had lost over 20 games in a row. Despite all the failures Head Coach Black kept preaching the mantra of “Get 1% Better” every day. Now Pacelli has become a doormat program to State Champion.
“All the countless hours, like we woke up 5 am. and then the conditioning was crazy but we knew that it would pay off so yes it was a lot of hard work,” said junior point and shooting guard Treton Latham.
A big key to the Vikings success was how the players were all on the same page. It’s a trait the players will remember most about this run to the GIAA State Title.
“The chemistry we had for each other and just the hard work that we all put in. And just the leadership that everyone had and the commitment,” said junior point and shooting guard Jalien Bush.
While winning championships is a great thing. Head Coach Black was most proud of how his players stayed committed to the process of getting better.
“In this day and time people transfer. Stuff doesn’t got their way they transfer. Not getting enough playing time they transfer. These kids just stuck through the process and stuck with me. With the hard coaching I do, I’m not easy to play for but they stuck with it and I’m happy to see it pay off for them,” said Pacelli Boys Basketball head coach Corry Black.
Both the Lady Vikings and Vikings also said it was so special to win their historic first championship in their hometown at the Lumpkin Center at Columbus State University. Congratulations to our newest Kia AutoSport Athletes of the Week and the new State Champions the Pacelli Girls and Boys Basketball Teams.
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