Saturday was a historic day for Esko High School basketball - and the celebration continued on Sunday with a pep rally for the school’s boys and girls teams.
The Eskomo boys won the school’s first boys basketball state title with a win over Annandale in the Class AA title game in Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon. They’re the first Northland team to win a boys basketball state title since Chisholm in 1991.
A few hours later, the Esko girls team beat Barnum to win the Section 7AA crown and earn a trip to state, where they’ll face No. 3-seeded New London-Spicer in a Class AA quarterfinal at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.
Several hundred people filled the Esko High School cafeteria on Sunday to celebrate the teams’ accomplishments and wish the Eskomo girls well on their trip to state.
1/5: Emma Adkins, 6, holds up a sign showing her support for the Esko basketball teams Sunday. The school held a rally for the state champion boys team and the state-bound girls team. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
2/5: Esko basketball player Jaxson Turner (right) watches as teammate Aaron Olson autographs a ball for the school’s trophy case. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
3/5: Esko head boys basketball coach Mike Devney thanks the parents of his players during Sunday’s rally. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
4/5: With the girls Section 7AA first-place trophy (left) and boys state Class AA trophy in front of him, Esko head girls basketball coach Scott Antonutti introduces some of his state-bound players Sunday. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
5/5: Several hundred people attended Sunday’s rally. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
Steve Kuchera is a retired Duluth News Tribune photographer.
