Spartans will look back at ‘unbelievable’ season with pride, sense of accomplishment
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
ALTOONA — One by one the teary-eyed, red-faced Spartans shuffled out of the Altoona High School locker room and into a crowd of family and supporters waiting to provide words of encouragement.
Nobody was thinking about the 31 wins that came before. Everyone’s minds were solely on Wyomissing’s lone loss, 47-31 defeat Tuesday to WPIAL runner-up Blackhawk in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals.
No one except Wyomissing head coach Aaron Anders.
“I don’t know if I’m going to have the right words in regard to how I think about (this team),” Anders said after the defeat. “Because it’s not just about today. I’m so proud of these kids, the accomplishments they made, how they handled themselves at the end of this game, and how they’re supporting each other.
“They’re a reflection of our community. You can clearly see, there’s a lot of people that came up here (traveling) for 3 ½ hours to support these kids. Today just didn’t go our way.”
The Cougars will load up the buses and travel to Hershey’s Giant Center to play in the championship against Scranton Prep Saturday at noon.
Wyomissing’s storybook season is over two wins short of its ultimate goal, but the loss to Blackhawk doesn’t define these Spartans.
While it may take days, weeks, or months to come to terms with the defeat this team can take solace in the positive impact it’s had on the Wyomissing community and the historic heights it has reached.
“Does it hurt? Yes,” Anders said. “Are there people (in the locker room) who are crushed? Absolutely. But they’re going to win together, lose together, and stay together. You can see, there’s tiny kids all over the place. Wyomissing girls basketball is alive.”
It’s not often a Berks team gets a turnout that rivals that of Reading High boys basketball. These Spartans did, packing the gym for home games all season.
(Chuck Myers photo)
There weren’t one but two student sections: One filled with the players’ classmates and another of middle and elementary school youngsters fully fixated on every play of every game.
The kids weren’t just there because mom and dad brought them along: They looked at Amaya Stewart as though she was Breanna Stewart; Annie McCaffrey as though she was A’ja Wilson; Audrey Hurleman as though she was Alyssa Thomas; Alexis Hardy like Chelsea Gray.
The crowd was loud, passionate, and present regardless of the long drives during the Spartans’ postseason to Pottstown, Bellefonte, and Altoona. The stands were filled with not just family and friends but invested and interested fans from the community with no direct connection to the players on the team.
They watched these Spartans win back-to-back county titles, joining Berks Catholic, Exeter, Gov. Mifflin, Kutztown, Reading High, and Wilson as the only Berks teams to do so.
They watched them win back-to-back District 3 titles, joining Central Catholic (2005-06), Holy Name (1993-94), and Wilson (2013-14, 1997-98) as the only Berks teams to accomplish that feat.
They watched them become the first Berks girls team to win its first 31 games, surpassing Daniel Boone’s 30-0 start in 1990, and become one of only five Berks girls teams to win 30 games, along with Gov. Mifflin in 1991, Wilson in 2000, and Holy Name in 2001.
They watched them return to the PIAA semifinals for the first time since 2004 and just third time overall.
“Taking a step back, that’s unbelievable,” McCaffrey said. “It honestly hasn’t sunk in yet. Same with the district titles. Same with the county titles. I think when the season’s over we’ll have more time to reflect on it, but it’s truly amazing.”
Spartans fans will watch a very familiar team next season as Stewart, Hurleman, and Hardy return for their senior seasons and aim to make it one round further.
Seniors McCaffrey and Abby Zechman will say their farewells and move on to the next stages of their lives, leaving lessons in teamwork and work ethic for the next group of players in line to make a bigger impact, such as sophomore Kacey Maggs and freshman Karly Hyde.
December will suddenly arrive and the Spartans will be focused on a new season with a renewed enthusiasm and revitalized motivation to capture their first state championship and defend their Berks County and District 3 crowns.
Eventually everyone’s recollections of the 2023-24 season will turn from sadness and disappointment to pride and a sense of accomplishment.
