Yates High School celebrated a bittersweet victory on Aug. 15, after the University Interscholastic League (UIL) announced that Yates High School has been declared the 2013 and 2014 Conference 3A Boys Basketball State Champions. The announcement followed a forfeiture of the titles by Dallas Independent School District’s Madison High School.
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“We are proud to accept the 2013 and 2014 Basketball Championship titles,” HISD Athletic Director Marmion Dambrino said. “The Yates High School athletes, coaching staff, administrators and teachers, as well as the community that supports these teams, have always been winners. We are glad that the UIL has chosen to recognize the school, despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the situation.”
While the Lions are happy to have the titles, they’re mourning one of the players from both teams. Artreal Jones, who graduated in May, passed away on Aug. 7, while playing recreational basketball with some of his classmates.
“He was just as good as it gets in terms of a player you would want to coach,” coach Greg Wise said of Jones.
The Lions made it to the state championship game for the second year in a row earlier this year, but fell short with an 82-70 loss to Madison. The team lost to Madison in 2013 with a score of 85-72. Yates also competed for the state championship in 2009, 2010, and 2012. The program won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
Plans to officially celebrate the championships are underway.
“They deserve to be recognized for all the hard work they put in,” Wise said.
Wanted to know if anyone else is wondering why is Yates be crowned champions? Usually if a team wins the championship and that championship is taken away for any reason then the championship is vacated and no winner is declared. The teams Madison beat in the playoffs before Yates didn’t have a fair chance either but no declared champions. Seems unfair to me.
Here’s the response we received from HISD Athletic Director Marmion Dambrino:
When any UIL contest is played and it is discovered that an ineligible player has competed in the contest, the minimum penalty is forfeiture of the contest, at any level-District play or State play.