By Matt Browning

Logan Churchill of Moundridge was voted the Salina Area Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Churchill was one of the Wildcats’ top players en route to the 2A state championship.

“This season was a special one,” Churchill said. “Not only because we won state but also because it was (head coach Vance) Unrau’s last year.”

There were obstacles that Churchill had to overcome in the second half of the season, but he was not going to let them detour the Wildcats from their ultimate prize of a championship.

“I am proud of how I improved throughout the season and gained more confidence each game,” Churchill said. “I struggled with an ankle injury in the second half of the season and had to overcome that. It was great being on the court with the other starters who could all score.”

Winning the state championship was not just for the players and coaches, but for the entire Moundridge community as well.

“As a team, our goal was to win state for us players, the coaches, and the community,” Churchill said. “We wrote that goal on our whiteboard at the beginning of the year and knew that that was our end goal.”

There were just three seniors on the Wildcats’ roster, but those three left the mark for years to come.

“We only had three seniors this year but I think we shaped a good culture for the future,” Churchill said. “Us seniors hope that we leave a legacy for others to follow because we wanted to win state since freshmen year and we put in all the work to do it our senior year.”