Private School Showcase

The Bluestem Classic in El Dorado has set up the last two years as a showcase for east Wichita’s private school boys basketball programs.

Trinity Academy, then in Class 3A, rolled past Class 5A Kapaun in the 2008 tournament final on their way to a state championship. Last season, eventual Class 3A state champ Wichita Collegiate edged Class 4A Trinity in overtime of the tournament final.

This season’s final could offer another match-up between Kapaun and Collegiate, the former of which defeated Collegiate twice during the 2007-8 season, including in the Bluestem Classic semifinals. The two teams did not play last season. The match-up would answer the question of how competitive Collegiate could be this season against a City League schedule.

Circle and Campus are two darkhorses to win the tournament. El Dorado, Newton and Great Bend round out the field.

First Round: 1 Collegiate v 8 Newton; 4 Circle v 5 Kapaun; 3 Campus v 6 Great Bend; 2 Trinity v 7 El Dorado