Spartans Pluck Eagles to Garnish State Birth |
SHS Grad Rates Best in Montana AA |
The boys basketball team got redemption last Friday in the 60-37 trouncing of the Big Sky Eagles to make it to the AA State Basketball Championship. The state tournament kicks off today at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.
“It’s pretty exciting going to state because it’s what you work for all year,” Senior center Griffin Line said. “Now we have to hit the grindstone because this is where everything matters.” The win last Friday was truly payback, as last year the Eagles won the playoff game, keeping the Spartans home. Line said, “It was fun to get revenge.” Senior forward Will Mytty said, “It’s great to get to play in that atmosphere, in front of that many people. It makes everything so much more real.” The boys kick off the tournament at 9 a.m. against Billings Skyview. The Spartans lost to Skyview in regular season play 61-49, though without Line and senior guard Mitch Roberts due to injury. “Skyview is quick and athletic, but so are we,” Mytty said. “They have one of the top offenses in the state, but not the best defense. We plan to exploit that.” |
Once again Sentinel High School leads the pack in graduation rates for the state.
The Montana Office of Public Instruction recently released statewide statistics showing Sentinel sits above the AA schools’ leaderboard with a 90.3 percent graduation rate, a 1.8 percent higher rate than the second place Billings Skyview. “When you consider this data in light of our other high performance metrics--dual credit, AA Cup extra-curricular performance, ACT achievement, AP programs--there is no question that Sentinel remains the highest performing comprehensive AA high school in Montana,” Principal Ted Fuller said. Locally, Big Sky and Hellgate ranked tenth and eleventh, with 82.9 percent and 82.7 percent graduation rates, respectively, of the 14 AA schools in Montana. “I could not be more proud of the work of our staff. Achievement of this sort is not an accident, coincidence, or an aberration,” Fuller said. According to OPI, in 2017, the average graduation rate for Montana was 85.8 percent. Missoula County’s graduation rate was 86 percent, Flathead County’s was 87 percent, and Ravalli County boasted a nearly 92 percent four-year graduation rate. |