Des Moines Christian joins perennial/semi-perennial state basketball tournament teams Kuemper Catholic (Carroll), Pella Christian, and Western Christian in this year’s Class 2A boys’ bracket. It’s the most private schools in one class in a state tournament since last year’s girls’ basketball Class 2A, where there were also four private schools in the eight-team bracket. (North Linn’s run to second place was against three of them.)
Private schools got seven of the 16 spots in this year’s and last year’s Class 2A boys’ tournaments. They got six of the 16 in this year’s and last year’s Class 2A girls’ tournament in the five-class setup. This year’s girls’ 2A final was Unity Christian over Western Christian.
Switching gears, Gladbrook-Reinbeck is back in the Class 1A tournament even while tensions continue to simmer about the closure of the school in Gladbrook.