Even in a normal year where sports wasn’t wiped out by a pandemic, G.W. Graham’s provincial basketball win would have been a strong contender for Chilliwack’s sports story of the year.
But it’s a slam-dunk selection in 2020.
When the G.W. Graham senior boys claimed the crown with a 79-67 win over the Duchess Park Condors (Prince George) in the AAA title game last March, they earned the first provincial banner in the school’s history. They also became the first Chilliwack high school squad to win it all at that level.
It was a long time coming for the Grizzlies, who started their championship quest before the school even opened in 2006. Jake Mouritzen signed on as athletic director and started laying the groundwork for what would come.
But it took a long time and many setbacks before G.W. Graham finally reached the top of the mountain.
They were in the hunt year after year, always appearing in the year-end provincial tournament and always running into an opponent that was a little bit better. But in 2020, finally, nothing could hold them back.
Led by the Twin Towers, Matthias and Zach Klim, supported by a deep lineup of scorers and defenders, the Grizzlies finally became the team no one could handle.
“The world is crazy, with so many bad things happening right now,” Mouritzen said. “But for us, this one moment was perfect.”
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Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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