"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Sequoyah Varsity Headed to State Tournament

"Sequoyah Schools
Varsity Boys’
Basketball Team"

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - Call it “The Dance,” call it the “Big House,” whatever you want to call it, it all means the same thing—the Oklahoma State Basketball Tournament—and the Sequoyah boys’ basketball team has earned their right to be there. The team beat Heavener 72 to 65 in the Area tournament in Muskogee to advance to State. The team currently has a winning record of 18 wins and 9 losses.

Sequoyah Coach Larry Grigg has built a winning tradition at Sequoyah and has taken eight teams to the state tournament since he joined the school’s staff. His teams have brought home three second place “Silver Ball” trophies and one first place “Gold Ball” trophy in 2003.

“It takes incoming talent every year to build a program like this,” Grigg said. “We had no returning starters this year and these guys came in with little or no experience and got us back to where we needed to be.”

“I’m very proud of the accomplishments of all of our athletic programs,” said Gina Stanley, Sequoyah Schools superintendent. “They have brought a lot of attention to our school and helped us gain a lot of support from the community. I am glad to see them doing so well.”

“The teachers are a big part of this,” Grigg said. “I always tell my students that if they excel in the classroom they will excel on the court and I appreciate our teachers that help them make that happen. Education and athletics go hand-in-hand.”

The Sequoyah boys will take on John Marshall at 3:30 p.m., on Thursday, at Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City. The team will leave at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and will parade through Tahlequah, passing by the Cherokee Nation Child Development Center, the Cherokee Nation Complex, and Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital before leaving town for the tournament.

Sequoyah Schools, a boarding school for Native American students, originated in 1871 as an orphan asylum to care for children who were orphaned by the Civil War. Now known as Sequoyah Schools, it is named for Sequoyah, the scholar who developed the Cherokee syllabary. The school is regionally and state accredited for grades 7-12 and has become the school of choice for more than 400 Native American students every year. Sequoyah Schools is located five miles southwest of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. For more information call (918) 453-5400 or visit the Sequoyah Schools’ web site.