The Burns’ girls recent Class 2A championship, accomplished in a season in which the Broncs finished under .500 with a 14-15 overall record, raised a good question in the Wyoming high school sports trivia circles: How many basketball teams have ever won state with a losing record?
The answer, it appears to be, is two.
The Burns girls join the St. Stephens boys of 2004, who won the Class 1A championship despite an overall record of 11-17, as the only teams to win state with a losing record.
However, this comes with a caveat — the records of four girls championship teams and one boys championship team since 1931 are not yet available.
Those five champions with missing records are:
- 1967 University Prep boys, Class A champions
- 1977 Snake River girls, Class C champions
- 1978 Pine Bluffs girls, Class B champions
- 1978 Snake River girls, Class C champions
- 1979 Byron girls, Class C champions
Records prior to 1931 are a bit spotty, as well, as tournaments prior to that year were not yet organized by the Wyoming High School Activities Association, which didn’t come into existence until then.
As always, if you can help me out, please do! Leave a comment on this post or email pschmiedt@yahoo.com.
Of note in this discussion is the Pine Bluffs girls of 1994, who finished 14-7 on their way to a title. A faulty state tournament preview story inadvertently put their record at 10-12 at a couple places on this site. That record was inaccurate. A big thanks to friend of the site “Stat Rat” Jim Craig for double-checking the Hornets’ final record that season.
–patrick