For Glenbard South boys, girls, it was an elite season
There isn't a school in Illinois that enjoyed as much success this basketball season as Glenbard South did.
First the girls team made it downstate for a second consecutive year, improving one spot on last year's team by bringing the Class 3A second-place trophy back from Normal on March 2.
On Tuesday the boys had their season end in the Elite Eight, matching the 2000 team's run to the supersectional. Peoria Manual defeated the Raiders 69-52 in DeKalb at the NIU Convocation Center.
"It's been special what they've done these past two years," Raiders senior guard Kevin Enright said of the girls team. "It's like, last year we lost the first round. We look at them and see they could go downstate and it's something like, you'll never forget.
"This run was magical. We built a bond between everyone in that room. Getting here for the second time in history, I guess first time in Spectacular Seven (a reference to the North Lawndale-Farragut double forfeit in a sectional final Friday), it was just a great time."
"It was a great season," added senior forward Tommy Powers. "Coming in with the new (Upstate Eight) conference, it was a little daunting, but once we started getting it done in there, we started to build some confidence. And then with our balanced scoring and team defense, we went into the playoffs with a nice strategy and managed to get pretty far. It was a lot of fun playing with some of the seniors for a long time."
The big stage of the supersectional seemed hard to imagine when practice began more than four months ago.
"I mean, that was a goal, and we were going to work as hard as we possibly could to get there, but nothing is a guarantee," Raiders forward Cole Hardtke said.
Like the girls, the boys exceeded expectations, especially their own.
"After my sophomore year we won regionals," Enright added, "And that was just such a special feeling. We lost first round. It was on a heartbreaking shot. Our main goal was just to have a great regular season, build through the postseason, win a regional and go from there. And the fact that we were able to build, win a sectional for the second time in school history is just special. And this atmosphere today was just something you'll never forget."
The season was a special one for the Hardtke family also. Senior Cole Hardtke and sophomore Cade Hardtke played important roles for coach Wade Hardtke.
"I've loved every second of it," Cole Hardtke said while sitting next to his father/coach. "I mean, it's been tough along the way. I mean, he'll be honest with that. It makes for interesting dinner discussions. From there just try and build.
"Freshman year I was a scrawny kid, OK, let's figure it out. (Sophomore) year, I was like, OK, we need to figure it out pretty quick. Junior year, we were still working on figuring it out, and then senior year, I don't know. He rode me pretty hard."
Like the girls team, the Raiders boys figured it out pretty well.