The Junior Spartan MAYB program competed this past weekend at Ottawa, going a combined 13-5. The 8th grade team went 5-0 and won the tournament championship, and the 6th-grade and 5th-grade teams each went 3-1 playing in the 6th-grade division. The 6th-grade team finished second, and the 5th-grade team finished third. The 7th-grade team finished 2-3.
Also this weekend, the Spartan high school program had teams playing at the KU Team Camp competition in the varsity and junior varsity divisions. Those two squads went a collective 9-5, with the JV squad finishing second in its division. The varsity squad went 3-4. Overall, Emporia basketball teams went 22-10 on the weekend.
The Junior Spartans kicked off the summer with a strong showing in the Newton Tournament on June 12-14.
In this 16th summer for the MAYB program, Emporia fielded squads from third grade through high school. Overall, the teams played 46 games, winning 29 of them.
“Any time you win more games than you lose, as a program, in a tournament that competitive, “you’ve done a good job,” said Rick Bloomquist, Emporia High basketball coach and coordinator of the Junior Spartan MAYB program.
Here’s how the teams fared:
• 3rd-4th grade went 3-3 and took second place in the consolation bracket;
• 5th grade went 2-3 with a loss at the buzzer;
• 6th grade was 2-4;
• 7th grade was 3-3;
• 8th grade was 7-1 for third place;
• 9th-10th grade was undefeated at 7-0 and won their division;
• 11th-12th went 5-3 for second place in the consolation bracket.