Pairings have been announced for the Class 3A state basketball tournament, with all girls? teams opening on Thursday, March 11.
With a group of four 18-5 teams, Marion, seeded sixth, will face No. 3 Beloit at 4:45 p.m., while Hillsboro, seeded fifth, will take on No. 4 Garden Plain at 8:15 p.m.
Hillsboro and Marion are on opposite sides of the bracket. If the Trojans were to get past Garden Plain, they would play the winner of No. 1 Thomas More Prep (22-1) and No. 8 Riley County (13-10) at 6:30 p.m. Friday. If Marion defeats Beloit, the Warriors would play the winner of No. 2 Jefferson County North (22-1) and No. 7 Frontenac (17-6) at 3 p.m. Friday.
Interesting to note: Five schools that were part of the Trojan Classic in January made it to state — Hillsboro, Marion, TMP, Riley County and Hesston (17-6, seeded seventh in Class 4A). TMP won the tournament title with a 45-42 victory over Hillsboro.
Surprisingly absent from the Class 3A field is MCAA champion Wichita Collegiate (21-2). The Spartans lost to Garden Plain in the sub-state at Conway Springs, 52-40.
For the MCAA boys, Wichita Collegiate (22-1) is the No. 1 seed at Hutchinson and Halstead (19-4) is the fifth seed. In Class 4A, Nickerson (17-6) will represent the league as the sixth seed.
This is the last year for the Mid-Central Activities Association.
