History will record two state champions in four classifications for the 2019-20 basketball season according to a statement released this week by the Arkansas Activities Association.
The statement released by the AAA began with an official announcement that the state basketball championship games for classes 3A-6A have been cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The announcement to suspend the games came in the middle of championship weekend with the Class A and Class AA championships being played before the suspension of games was announced on March 12.
The Kirby Lady Trojans won the Class 1A State Girls Tournament while the Nevada Blue Jays won the Class 1A State Boys Tournament. Melbourne won the Class 2A State Girls Tournament and England won the Class 2A State Boys Tournament.
AAA Executive Director Lance Taylor stated, “It is with great disappointment that we announce the decision to cancel the remaining state basketball championship games. We certainly sympathize with these students, coaches, and fans who are being impacted, but the health and safety of the students we serve is our top priority.”
The AAA also announced in the statement that both teams that qualified for the state championship games in Classes 3A-6A will be declared State Champions.
This means the 2019-20 State Champions in the affected Classifications will be:
3A – Girls (Mountain View, Valley Springs), Boys (Rivercrest, Osceola)
4A – Girls (Farmington, Star City), Boys (Mills University Studies, Magnolia)
5A – Girls (Nettleton, Greenwood), Boys (West Memphis, Jacksonville)
6A – Girls (Bentonville, Fayetteville), Boys (Central, Conway)
The AAA shared their support for State Officials in their effort during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AAA will provide more information on all spring activities at a later date.