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Class A: Knights claim state title

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Monday, Mar 03, 2008 - 11:57:33 am CST

Saturday's Class A tournament results:

Championship: Lincoln Southeast 60, Millard West 44

Finally, a girls state basketball tournament championship game tape Lincoln Southeast’s Marissa Kastanek can watch.

Story Photo
Lincoln Southeast's Marissa Kastanek defends Millard West's Jasmin Corbin during the Class A championship game Saturday. (Heidi Hoffman)
Friday's schedules and resultsThursday's results

Earlier in the season, Kastanek’s fight to gain eligibility after transferring from Crete in late October gained state-wide notoriety. Saturday night, it was the 5-foot-9 junior’s performance on the Devaney Sports Center court that put her in the Nebraska spotlight.

Kastanek scored 23 points, and senior guard Katie Birkel added 20 to pace the top-ranked Knights to a 60-44 victory against Millard West in the Class A title game. The win capped a 26-1 season for the Knights, who won their ninth state championship, all under Coach John Larsen. Millard West finishes 24-2.

A year ago, things didn’t go as well for Kastanek when Crete lost to Alliance in the Class B title game.

“I watched that tape in October before the season started and it was horrid,” said Kastanek, who also had seven rebounds and seven steals Saturday. “I’ll watch this one every day, if I can.”

Like Southeast’s 66-41 victory against No. 4 Millard North in Friday’s semifinals, the Knights hit on all cylinders. Their full-court pressure defense hounded the taller Wildcats into 25 turnovers, and with the frantic pace of the game, the Knights were either shooting layups or three-pointers.

Southeast’s quickness advantage even neutralized Millard West’s size by chasing down 12 offensive rebounds. That contributed to 23 more shot attempts by the Knights (58-35).

Larsen thought his players saved their best for last.

“The kids were really focused all week in practice and it showed in how they played here (at the tournament),’’ Larsen said. “Defensively, we wanted to pressure them and get the pace of the game up. Offensively, we spread them out, dribble-penetrated and kicked it out for threes. The kids executed it really well.”

One night after hitting 13 three-pointers against Millard North, Southeast buried 10 from beyond the arc in the finals. Birkel led the way with five threes. Kastanek, 10-of-18 from the field, connected on three three-pointers.

Kastanek scored nine of Southeast’s first 11 points as the Knights sprinted to a seven-point lead in the first 3 minutes, 10 seconds. They never looked back.

Southeast led 19-7 after one quarter and 32-18 at intermission. Birkel then helped ice it in the third quarter, exploding for 10   points as the Knights went on a 16-2 spurt in the first four minutes of the period to build a 48-20 cushion. Birkel hit her first three three-pointers of the second half.

“We were hoping they (the Knights) wouldn’t play like they did last night, but they did,” Millard West coach Kip Colony said. “Southeast is the Cadillac of Class A. They’re so quick with three Division I guards, they’re tough to stop. We needed 10 kids to guard them.”

The third member of that backcourt,  junior all-stater KK Houser, sparked the Southeast attack with six assists and three steals to go with eight points. Haley Lake contributed seven points and five assists while nailing all three shots she attempted.

“We bonded so well these last two days,’’ Houser said. “Everyone was scoring and contributing offensively and everyone played great defense. It’s a strong team.’’

Senior Heather Pohl was the Wildcats’ only double-figure scorer, with 15 points. The Wildcats’ inability to get the ball inside to their 6-foot front line of Pohl, senior Courtney Janecek and sophomore Alison Janecek frustrated Colony.

“I thought our high-low was there several times and we just didn’t take advantage of it,” Colony said. “We didn’t get the ball inside as much as I thought we could.’’

 --Ron Powell

Third place: Millard North 46, Kearney 43

Millard North’s Melissa MacFarlane scored 17 points, 12 in the first half, to lead the Mustangs to a 46-43 win against Kearney. Millard North took a 29-16 halftime lead and held on despite being outscored 27-17 in the second half. Nicole Arp led the Bearcats with 17 points.


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thug students wrote on March 1, 2008 10:09 pm:
" congrats to lse ... And shame on their students. Their conduct marred what should have been a proud moment for the school. Time to grow up, children, and to learn how to win with at least a semblance of class. "

 It would be nice wrote on March 1, 2008 11:42 pm:
" If, if, if the people taking pictures and video would turn those pictures of those idiots who stormed the court over to authorities and have them deal with the consequences of their actions. Was anyone hurt? What about the photogs who got crushed?

It is also time to have the LSE administrators who were overseeing these students to be held accountable for not doing their job. This was a mess and unless something is done, it is a mess that will occur again. "

 What?????? wrote on March 1, 2008 11:59 pm:
" The student section was GREAT!! So what they tried to rush the court but they wanted to greet the girls. I have seen many many schools do this. Now the school talks about kicking the kids out for a few days? No wonder we no longer have school spirt!!!!! Great job Knights on a WONDERFUL WIN!!!!!! "

 lse student wrote on March 2, 2008 12:13 am:
" I also was dumbfounded when the students stormed the court, but the NSAA officials had no right to punch and smack teh students, forcing them to fall to the ground. I was pleased to see my administrators defending the students against this type of assault. "

 Ricky wrote on March 2, 2008 12:31 am:
" LSE had a great team no doubt about it, but I found it hard to root for the favorite whose star player went to court in order to play for the team.

Ricky From Omaha "

 LSE Supporter wrote on March 2, 2008 5:55 am:
" There should be a asterist after this win in the record books. "

 LSE Grad. wrote on March 2, 2008 5:59 am:
" The students behaviors goes back to when Becker was principle, heck she joined in on some rude occasions. The present adninistration was hand picked by Becker. That is why there is no change at LSE "

 goob wrote on March 2, 2008 8:17 am:
" Oh STOP your madness. You would think these kids committed a crime. Far from that! And we wonder why our students are a far cry from yesteryear. Seems you would prefer the students to NOT support their school teams. Running the court is NOT making them a thug. Time we citizens allow kids to be kids and NOT adults. "

 It's too bad, really. wrote on March 2, 2008 9:21 am:
" Because the attention should be on LSE's big win, and where this team stacks up in the history of Class A state champs. Instead, a group of classless students (and apparently an administration unable to control them) bringing shame on their team and their school turns out to be the focus.

I attended the game as a "local neutral", as I do pretty much every year. I started the Class A game pulling for Southeast, but it took only about four or five minutes of having to tolerate the LSE students' conduct to reconsider my support for LSE. Defenders of the teens' actions will try to reduce it to a brief moment after the game ended, but the truth is that this bunch was a problem the whole game. The typical defense will be "let kids be kids," but after watching all of the games at the Devaney on Saturday, and most of the state tourney games over the last 10 or so years, I can't really remember a time when I'd seen such an out-of-control group. Southeast's were the only students Saturday who taunted the other team, partook in repeated taunting chants and tactics and topped it off by literally having to be physically restrained at game's end. Good job, NSAA security.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Southeast's basketball team truly was a sight to behold. Congratulations to them on a great win. It really is too bad that a team of that caliber doesn't have the fans it deserves. "

 Neo wrote on March 2, 2008 9:31 am:
" The girls were great and the students were great! If you just want to sit there and watch the game and not get excited, cheer, or clap stay home and watch on TV.

Let the kids celebrate! The only way anybody is going to get hurt is from the NSAA holding a rope to keep the the students off the floor.

And for those that seem to want to blame the LSE administration, you obviously decided to not pay attention to who actually kept the students from the court.

And get over the Kastanek situation. She will share another title with K.K, Paige and the rest of the LSE team next year.

Congatulations Knights! "

 u know who wrote on March 2, 2008 10:03 am:
" I am a student at Southeast High School and obviously a bit biased. However, I am quite disappointed with the behavior of the student section, as many of you are. It was completely unnecessary to storm the court, it had been obvious Southeast would win as early as the first quarter. The one thing I take offense to is the fact that many of you are now stereotyping all Southeast students as thugs and hooligans who are unable, or unwilling, to be controlled. Because of a small selection of Southeast students who attended the game and the fact that ONE section stormed the court, all LSE students are now characterized as unruly. I was in attendance and I feel it is necessary to say that I did not want to rush the court whatsoever. However, when you have people pushing you from all directions, the choice is to go with them or get trampled. This was not a fair representation of students at LSE high school or even of students who attended. Even if it was, I don't know that storming the court is a terrible thing to do. Kids are excited and things get out of control when there is a mass such as there was in attendance. "

 Look past wrote on March 2, 2008 11:26 am:
" I am a student of Southeast, and was in part of the student section at the game. From the beginning the energy and excitement from the game was represented by the fans. While I am very proud to be part of a school that houses such a great basketball team, I am disappointed (as I always am, because it it always the case) by the behaviors of some students. Many students confuse being derogative with being supportive, and it reflects poorly upon the rest of the students who have good intentions. I don't think it is fair to entirely blame the Southeast students, because other schools do have similar bad behaviors; however, I do think it is time to mature our ways of celebration and spirit. Storming the court should not be considered the biggest offense of students, but I do think that it is time students learn the game is not about them-- it is about the girls playing on the team who proved how talented they are. "

 Response wrote on March 2, 2008 11:45 am:
" now even though i go to the knight's rival school, congrats to the southeast girls, they definitely deserved to win it all, they were heads and shoulders above every other team. now as for the fans, i'm close with one of the girls on the team, and went to every game possible when i wasn't playing myself, and there were virtually no students there ever. then, southeast wins the state championship, and all of a sudden some members of the school act like they've been loyal fans all along. false. fact is, they just wanted attention and were being stupid. they can't claim to be true great fans "

 lse fan wrote on March 2, 2008 11:51 am:
" ," as a student in the student section, storming the court seemed a little farfetched, BUT when you have almost 3/4 of the student section behind you rushing up to the front, pushing and shoving, i would have considered myself an idiot not to run down the bleachers. if i didn't i would be afraid of getting my face smashed into the bleachers. it was hectic, and a little uncalled for, but it's a little disappointing that almost every lse student down on the floor was deemed a "thug" or whatever other comments are being left on here. FOCUS ON WHAT THE LSE GIRLS DID INSTEAD OF THE STUDENTS!

i have never seen a group of girls play with so much heart and i am proud to say i am a knight! it was an amazing game to watch and i hope and pray that for years to come people will remember the game instead of students storming the court. it was so exciting for the girls and they fully deserved it! GO KNIGHTS! "

 Aaron wrote on March 2, 2008 12:34 pm:
" Congrats Coach Larsen! "

 shooter wrote on March 2, 2008 1:16 pm:
" Wow, did you hear coach John Larson say My girls have the green light to shoot the ball. I hope other schools coaches were listening to that. Some schools teach basketball players to "don't shoot the ball, we don't want you to shoot the ball" Wonder why those schools aren't in the state tournament. Maybe we can get there next year by throwing the ball around the top, 30 feet from the basket. Yea, that's a great plan, no one will figure out how to defend us then. "

 Outstate Nebraska wrote on March 2, 2008 1:22 pm:
" Finally LSE wins a state title. Another one next year is a given. Coach Larson needs to find more kids to bring in after next year from surrounding schools, else they won't keep up with OPS and MPS schools. "

 anonymouse wrote on March 2, 2008 1:47 pm:
" That is the reaction of many people to kids' actions these days, no matter how inappropriate or illegal, "Kids will be kids." There are rules in place during games and partly to keep people safe. If the rule is no storming the court, then no storming. Students and fans can still show spirit without storming. To say you can't support your team without storming, most of the other schools did not storm the court. Wouldn't if have been nice if the LSE coach could have started the celebrating with his girls rather than holding back the crowd. There should be a consequence to those who stormed the court. As I don't approve violence, if you have a mob of kids storming the court, not listening to or following any directions, maybe the security felt they had to protect themselves with punches(although I was not at the game so I did not see what happened).

I am tired of everyone claiming, "Kids will be kids", or "It's a stupid rule or law." Maybe if more parents and people stepped up and held children accountable for their actions, rather than making excuses, the number of situations including rude, disrespectful,and sometimes illegal, behavior would be reduced.


"

 ANYONE who says, wrote on March 2, 2008 2:05 pm:
" Anyone who says that the "taunts" from the SE students were isolated behavior only by this school is wrong. If you had been at the sports center for all three days you would know that the "taunts" were directly related and a responses to the "taunts" the Millard West students had made on the first day to Omaha Marian and on the second day to Kearney. These "taunts" are not only good fun, but they are, or at least were, part of the pageantry of the State Tournament (at least until the speech police from the NSAA began their reign of terror). No, these "taunts" were NOT the problem.

The problem was these LSE students who just don't think rules apply to them, and show no respect for anyone. The problem is these students decided to act like euroTrash soccer hooligans instead of like American high school students. EVERY one of these kids who can be identified as having stormed the court should be suspended from school for a period of time. They certainly don't belong in the same conversation as their fellow students who played so great in that game.

Shame on the students and shame on the LSE administration for you lack of control. You are all lucky no one was injured. "

 TOOMUCHDRAMA wrote on March 2, 2008 3:06 pm:
" Finally, all the Kastanek-Edwards/Crete-Southeast drama is over. So much media time was spent on this issue this year that some of the other outstanding athletes did not get the credit they deserved.

Congrats to the LSE student athlete who took the back seat to Kastanek when she came on board. You are the true champion and outstanding student athlete in all of this. "

 ... wrote on March 2, 2008 3:42 pm:
" ...looks like kastanek is as good as she is hyped up to be...what an athlete! "

 look past wrote on March 2, 2008 3:48 pm:
" I am a student at Southeast and am proud to say that I am part of a school that houses such a talented girls basketball team; However, the behavior of the fans continues to disappoint me. While storming the court was forbidden, it should not be considered the greatest offense. Instead, the actions of the students was something to be more ashamed of. Too often they confuse being derogative with being supportive. I was part of the student section last night, and I was there with the intention of supporting my team. Others were there to be seen. It is time for the leaders of the student section to realize that game is not about them.
While I am disappointed by the actions of some fans, I am not ashamed to be a Knight. There were plenty of fans who cheered with good intentions. On behalf of the students, and for the sake of the players, do not characterize an entire school based on the actions of a few (loud mouthed) fans. "

 scott s. wrote on March 2, 2008 4:12 pm:
" TOOMUCHDRAMA: Like you, I'm glad to have the Kastanek situation resolved. But I must say I don't think her joining the team cost anyone their playing time. Katie and KK seemed glad to have her aboard -- and why not, we took State!. With the Knights' depth, Larsen rotated players constantly. Due to the commanding lead in so many games, players that might not otherwise have seen too many minutes spent a lot of time on the floor. There were games when 10 or 11 players scored! "

 knight wrote on March 2, 2008 4:26 pm:
" i believe storming the court was a bad idea. Look at what we lost, being able to watch our girls recieve awards, being able to greet them as they came out of locker room, being able to let the coach celebrate with them before having to control the students, and it goes on even after that. But seriously the adminstration shouldn't be put to blame, they tried to stop the students, but obviously they out numbered them. and the whole "taunting" issue, look at the other team, they did just the same thing to our team. most of the behavior of our students came from the excitment of knowing we were going to win from the middle of the frist quarter. we can't help but to be excited, but we should know better than to do what we have done.

but Congrats girls! you deserved it. "

 C'MON wrote on March 2, 2008 4:53 pm:
" c'mon people the LSE section was not the only student section to storm the court or taunt.. and if our taunts were so bad all 3 days at Devany why were we winning the sportsmanship award before the storming??? did no one else see the millard west student section yelling at our parents? at least we didnt make chants at the parents. ya we poked fun at the other teams but thats what it is.. fun!! and thats what the teams did right back. if anyone got injuried in the storming it was because the NSAA security was pushing and punching kids down. if they hadnt knocked students over no one would have gotten hurt..
the real focus is on the girls, look at them... amazing! and just as amazing next year. first state champ in what 6 years thats something to be said for. "

 Fan wrote on March 2, 2008 6:19 pm:
" all you people need to realize that most of these students that rushed the floor were trying to have fun. What is wrong with rushing the floor? Why is it so wrong? When the students at the University did it after beating Oregon and K-State nobody seemed to mind. Also the even staff at Devaney dropped their ropes at the Nebraska game, the nsaa was wrong in not doing so. People these are high school kids with school spirt at a high school girls sport, that should be applauded, LET THEM HAVE 2 MINUTES OF FUN STORMING THE COURT. "

 LSE FAN(every sport) wrote on March 2, 2008 6:54 pm:
" I am a 10th grade student at Lincoln Southeast High School and I would like to say that almost all of the students there (90%) never came to a Basketball game(girls) unless a boys game followed so they can not say that they are true loyal fans, but we are not all idots so dont judge us by that incident. Way to go KNIGHTS "

 Court Rusher wrote on March 2, 2008 7:19 pm:
" I am sooooo proud to say that I was one of those lse students who got onto the court last night!! I cant express in words how much it meant to me to be able to get on the floor. I dont know why people are saying i cant believe they did that, woop de do people lets cry about it some more!!! If we win state we should be able to do whatever we want. So next year when we win just sit back and watch us rush the court and enjoy it! "

 I give wrote on March 2, 2008 7:37 pm:
" Get my transfer papers ready LSW because I am going to go to Basketball U. at LSE. See ya later. I want to play for a winner. "

 JAKE wrote on March 2, 2008 8:13 pm:
" I attended the game as a neutral fan, what world do we live where a student body isnt allowed to celebrate with their team after a big win. I think all of the people complaining about LSE sportsmanship should take a closer look at that of their opponents. This should be put into perspective...The students are being supportive of their team, but instead are being call "thugs" and it's looked down upon as if it were a felony. This is absurd that anyone is this upset over something as trivial as a student section storming the court. "

 knight wrote on March 2, 2008 8:16 pm:
" I stormed the court with the student section. College students across the nation storm court at basketball games. So if you are going to label us as "euro hooligan soccer trash", then your calling a lot more people that than just us. Our girls won state, we were proud of them, and we wanted to celebrate. All of the security and panzie rope in the world couldn't keep us from trying to storm the court. If we got a another chance, we would do it again, and again, and again. GO KNIGHTS. "

 DFA wrote on March 2, 2008 8:19 pm:
" dose anyone watch tv. rushing the court is a great way to celebrate a meaning full win. go out greet the players, hoist them on your shoulders, tell'em nice work. if rushing the court is the worst thing these kids did,....well. I say just let them do it, when i was in the DFA(don't ask) that was the first thing they told us"dont rush the field", guess what? that only fueled the fire. LSE won football in 2003, the field was rushed, no one was hurt, good time where had by all. I was dancing with my english teacher in the endzone! THE ADMINISTRATORS SHOULD BE LEADING THEM OUT ONTO THE COURT, considering they havent won anything in such a long time, cherish the moment. "

 Control your excitement wrote on March 2, 2008 8:20 pm:
" Congrats LSE on your win. As for the photographers (mentioned by "It would be nice") from what I remember (standing down on the floor) there was only 1 and they were warned that that was not the place to be and their comment was "you can come to my funeral if you want."

I understand the excitement in your team winning the game...The good point was made that it was not necessarily a very close game, so that takes 1 reason to rush the court away. I understand the excitement just because of the win, BUT the students have to keep in mind that the BDSC is not their facility, the NSAA has a timeline for the events and the game following, and for the safety of everyone on the courts (ie: their teammates on ladders cutting down the net amd the safety of them self) it is not a condoned thing to do...as it was mentioned at the beginning of the game and as the students were attempting to rush the court that no one is allowed on the court.

As for "u know who"'s comment... LSE as far as I know are NOT a bunch of 'thugs and hooligans.' They are good at women's basketball! They won state and got excited, made an attempt to rush the court, and after that was foiled they cooperated with event staff.

Congrats LSE, it is unfortunate you 'wanted' to rush the court and is somewhat unfortunate that you were not allowed to celebrate with your team.

FYI: the students who rushed the court (basically all LSE students on the court level except the band) were just pushed upstairs. They still did have the chance to see the award presentation. "

 Next Year wrote on March 2, 2008 8:41 pm:
" Why is everyone getting so worked up about this? Storming the court has become a part of basketball! College students do it after every big win. If the NSAA was smart they would have dropped the rope and let us storm the court. That is the only reason people got hurt, because they didnt let go of the rope. We are not "Thugs" because we stormed the court. And if this makes you upset well you need to losen up a bit and have some fun, because when we win state next year....There will be another storm "

 WOW! wrote on March 2, 2008 8:45 pm:
" You all have to be kidding. I applaud the LSE students for being so enthusiastic and supportive of their team. I was at the game and yes they were loud but I would not say obnoxious at all. Your talking about all the attention being taken off the game...well read what you wrote you are the ones doing that, just drop it. As it has been said storming the court was in no way disrespectful to anyone but instead in support of the win. The reason there was a problem was because they (The teachers and NSAA) tried so hard to stop it...had they just let it go it would have all been fine! The whole reason to storm a court in the first place is to go congratulate the team and celebrate with them, it doesn't have anything to do with the students. Many teachers and NSAA and apparently some of you have overreacted a great deal and all it really comes down to is CONGRATS KNIGHTS. Our team was amazing this year and thats all that needs to be said. "

 lse fan wrote on March 2, 2008 8:57 pm:
" i think that everyone who is saying oh you shouldnt have stormed the court are just being dumb
if you look back what about the time piux tried to storm the lse court that wasnt even an important game
and it was the most important game of the season and i think we had the right to storm after we demolished the teams we played and such
and nebraska fans do it all the time you dont hate on them you people who had a problem with that need to just chill out ok "

 knight wrote on March 2, 2008 9:15 pm:
" first off great job to all the girls! all of you are quality players and deserve the state title more than anything in the world you guys worked sooo hard to get there so congrats!
second, to all those people complaining about the student section rushing the court... who are you? seriously your gonna take away from kids trying to celebrate their win? pretty sure we weren't trying to hurt anyone the only reason people got hurt is the NSAA staff and trust me they warned people not to stand in front so for that photog who was in that ha that was his choice but wow i can't believe people are trying to say that they should suspend us for rushing the court and calling us "euro trash soccer hooligans" and whoever said no one ever came to their games is definately not true. but congrats on a great season girls. birkel next year your gonna do bomb off at college. State champs '08 & '09 "

 ??? wrote on March 2, 2008 9:25 pm:
" From reading the posts here theres not really any neutral arguments but it does seem like the people against it can't really justify treating the students like delinquents "

 Comical wrote on March 2, 2008 9:39 pm:
" Frankly, this whole discussion is comical. Half of the "LSE Students" and many others use improper grammar and spell words incorrectly, discrediting almost all of what they have to say. The fact of that matter is, the students were told to stay off the court, and they didn't. They should all face the consequences of their actions. That being said, storming the court when your school wins a state title is an opportunity that nobody in the student section had ever had, and I can understand why they would want to storm. Seeing the Husker students storm the court after a big win, and seeing the court stormed on television after big wins make it seem like the right thing to do. Had I been in that student section, I might have stormed knowing that I would be held accountable for my actions. "

 Yeah, i stormed it wrote on March 2, 2008 10:23 pm:
" To everyone: we have been planning to storm the court after we had won state for a couple of weeks now. There wasnt ANYBODY who was going to stop us(especially the seniors like me and the dfa!). During the entire game we were getting more and more pumped about us winning and us getting past the ropes and the 'big men' to get to celebrate with our team! ITS NOT A BIG DEAL im sure tomorrow i will get suspended, who cares-it was so totally worth it. and even if you didnt wanna storm it, you got pushed into it and about the sportsmanship thing: we didnt deserve it. we probably deserve the worst sportsmanship award

TO MY GIRLS!!!
congratulations!! each and everyone of you deserved to win and we all knew it from the beginning of the season. major props to maddie who gave up her place playing so the seniors could have their moment.

GO KNIGHTS!! "

 Proud Knight wrote on March 2, 2008 10:56 pm:
" I'm a proud ex-knight and i saw the game and the much deserved state championship against MWHS. Way to go, congratulations to you and coach Larsen.

As for people upset about the "unruly euro trash hooligans" what do you expect when the student section doesn't respect the authority at hand. If there was an equal respect the students wouldn't have been tempted to react in the way they did. On the other hand, basketball wins are celebrated by fans storming the court, its what fans do to celebrate with their team. Let it go. "

 lse08 wrote on March 2, 2008 11:19 pm:
" i think people who didnt like the students rushing the courts need to get a life. just because some of u that didnt like it never had the chance to do it when they were kids, just need to keep there comments to them selfs. we only live once and we are goin to live life to the max. good job girls on winning state and cant wait to see u make a run for it next year to. GO KNIGHTS!!! "

 Chris Schmidt ikitsu wrote on March 2, 2008 11:20 pm:
" " i go to the LSE, congrats to the southeast girls, they definitely deserved to win it all, they were heads and shoulders above every other team. now as for the fans, i'm close with all of the girls on the team, especially Katie Birkel, and went to every game possible, and there were students there every time. then, southeast wins the state championship, and all of a sudden the students can't celebrate and are kicked out for supporting their school. "

 DFA wrote on March 2, 2008 11:32 pm:
" The tradition will continue no matter what the Administration try to do. DFA 4ever "

 LSE ALUM wrote on March 3, 2008 12:42 am:
" Wow. it's really amamzing how serious you people take this stuff. had the administrators just let them storm the court and jump around for a minute then got em off quickly, there would have been no problem. but no, they had to show how tough they were and throw a bunch of 16 year old kids to the ground. wow congrats NSAA you really showed em who was boss. who better for those girls to celebrate the biggest win of their lives with, than their own student body. people need to quit being such fun haters. these kids get a few years to make some memories then its over. get off your high horses.

ANYWAYS

Dont let the students take any thunder away from the team. that was one of the finest basketball teams i have ever seen. congrats, and best wishes to them in the future. "

 BC wrote on March 3, 2008 8:42 am:
" Number of championship games: Six
Number of schools rushing the court after having been asked not to: One "

 ...wow wrote on March 3, 2008 9:40 am:
" I'm a student at Southeast and i don't really see what the problem is...You can't expect us to be perfect all the time. Although with all the new rules at our school, we can see the administrators are trying...I think something like this was bound to happen because we have no freedom.

People just need to cool down because this isn't the first time in history something like this has happened and i have to wonder if it would be a problem if another school had done the same thing...or at least as big of a problem? i seriously doubt it because everyone just wants to find something wrong with the students at Southeast...Well here is a little secret...were not perfect! "

 JPB wrote on March 3, 2008 9:45 am:
" What's so hard about this? Be compliant with what was requested..."Please stay off the playing floor after the game"...no one said students can't celebrate; students can't celebrate ON THE PLAYING FLOOR. It appears "DFA" desires more to draw attention to DFA while taking the attention away from those who have earned it...THE PLAYERS PLAYING THE GAMES! "

 parent wrote on March 3, 2008 10:26 am:
" rules are rules, don't storm the court. broken rules have consequences, the student section was asked to leave. that's it. leave out the NSAA, administrators and stop defending kids that break the rules. its that victim mentality! lse, more discipline isn't necessary, let it go. and celebrate that state championship victory! "

 knightdefender wrote on March 3, 2008 10:28 am:
" I feel that certain things haven't been taken into account, I am a Knight I am proud of our girls team, and yes I agree with most people the court storming was unnecessary and rude, but don't pin it all on the administration since countless of them attempted to stop the storming, and now have to take different action "

 WOW wrote on March 3, 2008 11:27 am:
" I believe not storming the court began during the district tournaments. Our team won our district, however, officials were on the court to prevent our student body from storming the court (of which they followed the rules).

One question: How many other teams on Saturday stormed the court?

As storming the court is not the worst thing in the world these kids do, it was against the rules. Rules are rules, whether you like them or not. How many close games has LSE had this year, other than the South Sioux City game. Had this been an upset or a close game down to the finish, it may have made the storming more understandable, but was this really a surprise. Hopefully, the fans are wrong about storming again next year. Step up to the plate and learn to follow rules, whether you like them or not. "

 tim wrote on March 3, 2008 11:59 am:
" our responsibility to our kids is not to 'let kids be kids' but rather to teach kids to become responsible adults. bad behavior should never be tolerated and the administration of lps and specifically lse should be held accountable. those few students from lse that were taunting should have been given one warning then removed from the facility if they continued. its obvious that bad behavior is allowed at lse every day. too bad all the students get a bad reputation for the few misbehaving but i suppose thats life in the real world. "

 Scott wrote on March 3, 2008 12:25 pm:
" The cross-court taunts were some of my favorite sports memories as a high schooler, both as fan and a player. I think you can have some pretty funny and cutting chants, but everybody knows that it is all in good fun. People used to do the "read the newspaper during opposing teams introduction" bit against us all the time, so we came up with various creative ways to counter it. We'd have great personalized chants for all of our players, and we'd think up chants to oppose other teams personalized player chants. All that, and there was great basketball, too. Please people, don't crush the spirit, enthusiasm, and tradition of state basketball by runing everyone's good-natured fun by claiming it is "poor sportsmanship". "

 Oh no they stormed the court wrote on March 3, 2008 1:02 pm:
" and were at a high school basketball game supporting their school. I can think of 100 different things they could have been doing that are much worse. This city is a bunch of crybabies who are simply to uptight. Who cares about some high school kids wanting to celebrate THEIR school winning. The people who are complaining about his need to relax and take a note from some kids, have fun! Why is it such a big deal in the first place? Wow, some kids rush the court jump up and down for 3 minutes then get bored and leave. If I saw a grown man throw my 16 year old son to the ground for this, there would major charges brought up.Thanks NSAA for showing how tough you are on a bunch of kids. "

 THUG wrote on March 3, 2008 2:23 pm:
" Childish? i guess we are just as mature as the college students who have rushed the floor in that same exact building, at least we have that going for us "

 BBALL Fan wrote on March 3, 2008 4:21 pm:
" I think it is interesting they try to defend their rushing the court. It seems that a lot of state championships have been won at the Devaney Center and I have rarely seen students rush the floor. While I was in elementary, middle, and high school my school won 10 state championships and we never once rushed the floor. I mean come on they announce during the game to please stay off the court. I know this is not indicative of all of the students and fans at the game but the ones who are depending should be ashamed of them selves. I hope the kids that instigated this rush learn to follow the rules someday. "

 T wrote on March 3, 2008 5:06 pm:
" Fans should celebrate when their team wins a state championship. All you people that are 65 and have nothing better to do than sit there all weekend and watch every single state playoff game... Get a life! Its high school. There is no reason it shouldnt be allowed. Also, why is everyone talking about that. The whole reason it happened is because the girls won state. You should all be talking about how good the team was, and how good the girls played. Instead everyone is talking about the fans running out on the court... Big deal. We had a great team, great players, and we won a state championship. Im sick of how no one in this city has anything better to do than complain about how routy the teenagers are. I bet half you people were twice as bad when you were young. Lots of other schools are way worse than lse, and theres lots of worse stuff that goes on in the world to worry about than some students running out on the court for 30 seconds. Grow up people, and get a life. "

 Steph wrote on March 3, 2008 5:19 pm:
" The students at LSE should be praised for the school spirit they showed. They are a class act. GO KNIGHTS!!!! "

 lse student wrote on March 3, 2008 5:45 pm:
" All of you people criticizing our student section for our storming of the court need to get off your high horses! The storm was nothing but a way to show how proud we were of our amazing girl's basketball team and their success. What better way to celebrate then with our own team? It was not in any way to take away their spotlight. Anyone who got hurt were warned ahead of time and their ignorance to it resulted in their own injuries. That is in NO WAY the LSE student body's fault. As for our actions being "immature and rebellious", it was nothing but fun. But no, all you critical people have to go and ruin it and make a big deal out of it. Let us look at the adults who threw, tackled, and punched students to try and regain control. How is that in any way "mature"? That is nothing but a bad example and terrible excuse to do something by physical means. Kids with cuts and bruises...These "respectable" adults have done nothing but overstep their authority. It not only showed immaturity on their part, but an inability to maintain control and composure of themselves. Everything would've been fine if we had just been let to celebrate on the court for a few minutes. Besides, anyone criticizing high schoolers on their behavior obviously have wayyy too much time on their hands and you're just looking to start trouble. This has been blown way out of proportion and you criticizers need to remember we're kids, in high school, and we want to have FUN. Stop forcing us to grow up so fast and let us enjoy this in the ONE life we have. You all know damn well that you acted the SAME WAY in high school so don't sit here and yell at us for how we behaved you hypocrites. LSE was an amazing school with a lot of school spirit until our administration took away and banned everything. No wigs, or dressing up, this is too extreme. The administration is nothing but a Nazi Germany. I'm proud of our DFA and student body and support our actions all the way. And as stated in another comment, there WILL be another storm next year when we take state again. Way to go girls, you deserved this win! GO KNIGHTS!! "

 kinzo wrote on March 3, 2008 7:22 pm:
" Yes I am an LSE student and I have no reason not to simply agree with the actions of our spirited student section. It's not that big of a deal, get over it. There are far worse things to deal with. I totally agree with lse08, T, and every other comment that was for our southeast students.

Great Job ladies. Every single one of you deserve this victory. Live it up and love it.

Enough said! "

 lsekni wrote on March 3, 2008 8:07 pm:
" chris schmidt you guys had a great season congrats "

 me wrote on March 3, 2008 9:51 pm:
" this is being blown WAYYYY out of proportion. all you people who were not at the game on saturday, do not know what really happened, or dont know anybody or anything about southeast have absolutely NO reason to be saying anything. you have no room to call us a bunch of thugs and whatever names you have called us. we are just being dedicated fans-we were overly excited. you would be too. we havent won a state title in anything for a few years now.
yes, we broke the rule and theres nothing we can do to take it back. its becoming a bigger deal than it needs to be. im sure the admin will deal with this issue although they havent yet.
also, the girls didnt even care that we did it-they thought it was funny. congrats girls-dont let this stupid stuff come in the way of celebrating. GO KNIGHTS!!! "

 LOVE IT wrote on March 3, 2008 11:57 pm:
" Hey you so called "Thugs" that rushed the court!WAY to go, I thought that was awesome. Hey you made history, no one died so everyone get over. If you are one of those that are upset about it, just remember "don't take life serious, no one gets out alive" I'm proud of the "thugs" "

 lse student wrote on March 4, 2008 1:03 pm:
" I think the its weird that you can storm the football field after your team wins. Whats the difference in bball? We are just showing our excitement for winning. I bet other schools would have done it too. "

 stormer wrote on March 4, 2008 3:30 pm:
" hey i stormed the court. i dont regret a thing. ive been to alot of the girls games and i would consider myself a loyal fan. and if you want to call us thugs, go ahead. i dont care. actually i think its funny. and if you want to suspend us, go ahead. that would be suspending most of the kids that showed up to the game. and that would just be telling us to not show up ever because we might get suspended. even h-p stood up for us. hes our principle and backed us (mainly the seniors) 100%. and i think thats awesome. and why is it that we cant rush the court or bring anything but millard west can bring blown up things that could be considered a weapon. i think this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. and 1 last thing, congratulations coach larsen hopefully youll get 1 for football and 1 for basketball next year too. "

 all you lse fans wrote on March 4, 2008 8:03 pm:
" did you ever think that storming the court might cause injury to all your d1 players? What mama kastanek say if her d1 player was hurt because a bunch of kids stormed the court?

think about your actions.... "

 AllI have to say to that is wrote on March 4, 2008 9:19 pm:
" Seasons over....Do college fans ever think there future NBA players might get hurt while storming the court? No. We do it for FUN. So get over it. "

 sick of hearing about it wrote on March 4, 2008 9:32 pm:
" get over it "

 recentlsegrad wrote on March 5, 2008 10:07 pm:
" I am 3 years out of LSE, and I don't blame the students for storming the court- I think it's a great sign that school spirit is alive there. In case no one has noticed, it hasn't been a stellar last couple of years in athletics for Southeast. Storming the court and "taunting" are not the students trying to be harmful, they are getting into the game! I would have done the exact same thing and I am definitely NOT a thug. That was an exciting moment to be a Southeast Knight, let them enjoy the victory instead of being a total buzzkill. I am not saying storming the court was the best idea, but it really is not something to get worked up about! My sister was a part of it and her adrenaline was still pumping about it hours later! "

 recentlsegrad wrote on March 5, 2008 10:12 pm:
" and for those who say to hold LSE administration responsible....there is no shortage of discipline and rules at Southeast. It has gotten increasingly strict since I left, and that's probably part of why they stormed the court. The administration has severely limited student expression and they are probably getting fed up! "

 Out of Respect wrote on March 10, 2008 2:10 am:
" First things first: Way to go GIRLS-nice work at state!! I think that celebrating after a win such as this one is a great thing. I am a parent that believes that nine times out of ten, parents ARE responsible for the actions of their children; However, I am certain that peer pressure plays a role in a scenario such as this one. My main concern is that the students are allowed time off school to attend these types of events so that they can support their schools. If this situation would have ended poorly, (thank goodness it did not) there would be consequences that may involve not allowing students to attend functions. That would be a sad thing. I would be disappointed to see that happen for the students, but most of all for the teams that work hard and appreciate the support of their school and their fans. I am not saying that students were wrong in celebrating the victory of their team, or that their celebration is solely the fault of their parents. Perhaps someone needs to mention perspective consequences so that the STUDENTS are aware if instances like this were continuously repeated. The purpose of allowing excused absences for championship games and state play-offs are to REWARD the students of the school in its entirety. OUT OF RESPECT for YOUR school, other schools, and many students who will one day share your pride in tournaments held at Devaney (an honor all in it self), remember this day and learn from it. A win such as this one could often be followed with much greater rewards back at school come Monday morning, if only so many would just THINK before they ACT. "

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