Benton holds pep rally; sending boys and girls basketball teams to Final Four
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — With the Benton Cardinals boys and girls basketball teams both heading to the state tournament on Friday, the southside community came together Wednesday night to celebrate a historic moment.
The hour-long pep rally, held in Springer Gymnasium, was designed to bring excitement and recognition to the student-athletes before they travel to Columbia, Missouri, for the Final Four. With Benton students away on spring break, the event gave players a moment to soak in the support from their families and fans.
"We're on spring break, so neither team really gets to experience the buzz, the excitement of being around their classmates throughout the week," athletic director Brett Goodwin said. "When the parents brought this to my attention and asked if this would be a good idea, I said, ‘absolutely.’ It was a really neat night."
The rally featured player introductions, lip-sync battles, a dunk contest, a shooting contest, and karaoke, ending with players signing autographs for fans. Final Four T-shirts were even pressed on-site, allowing supporters to take home a piece of the moment.
While both teams have had plenty of success, this marks a rare occasion in St. Joseph history.
"I don't know if this is the first time ever that two teams in the same sport have gone. I think it is," Goodwin said. "Mike Ziesel texted me immediately and said, 'I think this is the first time in the history of St. Joe.' So this is incredibly awesome, we couldn't ask for a better moment."
The Benton girls team is no stranger to state tournament play, having finished second in Class 4 in back-to-back seasons (2021-22, 2022-23) and fourth in 2020-21. This year's squad enters with a 23-6 record and will face Logan-Rogersville at 8 p.m. Friday in Mizzou Arena.
"We started a culture here, and I truly believe that Chris (Michaels) has carried it on,"Goodwin said. "It's, I hate to make it sound like this, but it's kind of become a tradition. The girls are widely known across the state, and I really do think they could go down this weekend and make some noise."
The Benton boys team, on the other hand, is enjoying one of its best seasons in years, entering the Final Four at 27-3. The Cardinals haven’t lost since Jan. 24 and punched their ticket to Columbia by defeating Lafayette in the district tournament. They will face Logan-Rogersville at 4 p.m.
"Since '92, I believe, they knocked on the door a couple of times," Goodwin said. "I think Coach Boone really felt throughout the year that he had a team that could make a little bit of noise, and you kind of just saw it starting to develop as the year progressed.”
With both teams set to compete for a state championship, the community has embraced the significance of this moment.
"We got two really good basketball teams that have great young men and great young women, led by just wonderful coaches," Goodwin said. "This is a special moment, and it's something they'll carry with them for a long time.”
