Time to start crowning champs

The winter season has been a blast.

It was filled with buzzer-beating baskets, last second takedowns, a perfect 300 game of bowling, fish-like feats of swimming, and a signing day blitz that had us all pulling for our local heroes and the bright futures awaiting them.

CatchItKansas.com listed nearly double the amount of signings as a similar Kansas website throughout the day Wednesday.

It was also filled with the usual share of weather cancelations and single-digit temperatures that made me reach for my golf clubs when the thermometer hit a sweltering 31 degrees.

But seemingly as soon as it started, the winter season has nearly come to a close. State swimming starts on Feb. 18.

So as much fun as the winter season is, it’s high time we buckled up and start crowning some champions.

And let our signing day coverage be an indicator of how we will approach state championships.

State swimming kicks off the winter postseason in Topeka on Feb. 18-20. Boys swimming has been dominated by the Kansas City area for the better part of 30 years with a couple of exceptions. Wichita Southeast won a title in 2003. It was the first western championship since Salina South won in 1983.

But Maize is showing a ton of promise in 2010. Could this be a rare year for a Wichita-area team championship?

Wichita Trinity has carried the girl’s banner, winning four titles since 2000. But this year the Lady Knights will have to try without one of the Bruce sisters.

On the Saturday state swimming wraps up, regional wrestling tournaments will decide who moves on to state the week after.

When the state tournament starts on Feb. 26, expect wall-to-wall coverage with a live blog throughout the day, video, photos and articles, all leading up to the championship finals on Saturday.

The week after state wrestling brings us right into March, with state bowling on Thursday and Friday. Goddard will be defending a boys title in 6A as will the Maize girls. Bishop Carroll took both the girls and boys championships in 5-1A.

On the Saturday following state bowling, basketball sub-states begin as teams will either win or go home. Catch It Kansas will have in depth coverage of the state tournaments the following week with live blogs, video, and articles.

The winter has been fun. But the time for fun and games is over. Let’s ratchet up the intensity and find out who the best in the state really is.

If you have any suggestions or ideas for our winter state coverage, let us know how you would like to see the events covered.