Ah, one of my favorite weeks of the year started Saturday January 16th. No, not because of the weather, because the McLean County Tournament has started! Yes, the weather always seems to throw it's rimshot too. I've seen everything from blizzard like conditions to sunshine to torrential rains on Championship day, but the fans and teams always show up.
This year the competition should be pretty good, although some of the team rankings are pretty different from past years. ElPaso-Gridley boys are seeded in the top 5, a different look than some of the past years where they struggled past the 1st round. Ridgeview played two games on the 16th and was eliminated from the rest of the competition. That's a big change. The Mustangs seemed to be just a half a click off with just about every play attempt. I did see a couple of sequences that went well for them, but for some reason they just aren't quite there.
Heyworth looks to be back in it, but on the boys side, it appears that no one will take down Fieldcrest. EP-G came within 10 the other night, so maybe they will get a second chance on the 23rd.
On the girls side, the Ridgeview Mustangs look to be the team to beat. They only lost one senior last year from a team that competed at Redbird Arena for the state title in March. Nord, Gleeson, Jones, Hardman, Hughes and the rest should be fun to watch.
Those of you who follow my images will probably notice that last year and this year are both billed as the 99th McLean County Tournament. Well, there is a story for that. This is actually the 100th year, but only the 99th tournament. 1933 did not have one. Now you know the answer to that question of life.
be sure to visit the galleries tab on http:\\www.alanlook.com for galleris of the games I was able to cover. Looking is always free and prints are always competitively priced.
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