RACINE — It has been an eventful season for Racine's St. Catherine's boys basketball team. And now, they're preparing for the excitement of the WIAA state tournament.
"We just gotta keep our head level and go up there and handle business," senior Lamont Hamilton said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the team was sent off with a school-wide show of support, two decorated vans, and a police escort from the school.
"It's really just a great feeling, having to work up and putting in all this work, that we're finally coming to the big stage," freshman Korben Sugars said.
Earlier this season, Hamilton broke the city's all-time scoring record, and the team's coach, Ryan Thompson, hit 100 wins.
Watch: St. Catherine's boys basketball team prepares for state tournament
"All the work that we just put in to get to this point that we are at right now, so we are at our peak, so I feel like we're going to do our thing," Hamilton said.
But these individual accomplishments are only secondary to what they hope to achieve as a team.
"We all got a connection to each other. It's not just one person left out or anything," senior Adreyan Contreras-Ward said. "Everybody's all together, everybody vibes with each other, everybody gets along."
The team features eight seniors, some of whom have played basketball together since they were kids.
"And we always hold each other to a certain standard," Contreras-Ward said.
For the three freshmen on the team, this weekend is a chance to gain experience in hopes that this isn't their last trip to the tournament.
"It gives us experience of how the game is already going, so we know how to feel when we're going up to that level," freshman Karmelo Hunter said.
"Hopefully we can make it to state again, and I say we will make it to state again, 100%," freshman Jeremiah Stephens said.
But for now, the team is taking it one day at a time, measuring success by their ability to work on the court for one another.
"Just playing ball, just doing us, and knowing we can get it done," Hamilton said.
The team gets their tournament run started Thursday as they take on Lake Mills.
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