Tennessee High Reaches New World

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Each game has meant more. Each game has been bigger, more dramatic, more intense. And with each contest the Tennessee High Vikings girls basketball team has played this postseason, the program has reached a new height.

Now, the 2008-09 Vikings are going to a place no team in the school’s history has ever been. Tennessee High faces Memphis Central at 5 tonight in the quarterfinals of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association state tournament at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Vikings (28-4) coach Barry Wade said his team has been overwhelmed by the support it has received from the Bristol community, while assistant coach Charlie Tiller stated that he’s been approached at school by a multitude of people – some of whom he doesn’t know – offering kind wishes of good luck.

“That speaks well of our school and our school system,” Tiller said. “They support girls athletics in general and girls basketball in particular. And that’s been a big thing that has really helped us get where we are.”

The Vikings have also helped themselves. Led by senior guard Danielle Montgomery, who has signed a letter of intent with the University of Massachusetts, Tennessee High has defied odds and disbelievers, rolling through the 1-AAA district and regional tournaments and earning the first-ever state appearance in the program’s history. The Vikings knocked off Bearden, 49-45 in overtime, March 7 in the 1-AAA sectionals to earn the honor.

“It feels like I’m already playing college ball,” Montgomery said. “Everybody’s like, ‘Are you ready for next year?’ And I’m, like, ‘I’m already here.’ ”

While Montgomery tops Tennessee High, seven other seniors lend significant support. Sarah Baker, Cheyenne Thornsberry, Ashton Keen, Sara Wysor, Susan Graham, Elizabeth Vance and Erica Grinnell round out a senior squad that has posted a 105-29 varsity record – the most wins of any senior class in the school’s history.

“I think our chemistry has a lot to do with it,” Baker said. “We’ve been together for so long. We’re used to playing with each other. We’ve gotten to the point where we know how everybody is and how everybody plays.”

Tiller has coached many of the Vikings’ seniors since the seventh grade. He said the ability to watch some of Tennessee High’s premier players mature and hone their talent is something he’ll never forget.

“I had a pretty good idea they were going to be pretty good,” Tiller said. “But to watch them and still have eight of them with us after all this time – I mean, that’s really rare. We’ve never had more than five in a senior class. That’s really special. And they’re just a special group of girls.”

According to Wade and Tiller, a main factor in the Vikings’ success has been selflessness. Tennessee High is not concerned with individual statistics, they said, and the team always supports and cheers for whoever’s on the floor.

“They’ve never even asked to look at their stats. They don’t care,” Tiller said. “The big stat is the win-loss column. And we say that all the time in sports, but this group really believes that.”

The Vikings have fared well in that category. Tennessee High’s 28 wins ranks second all time in the school’s history, while the Vikings’ four losses are tied for the fewest ever recorded by the program.
Factor in five consecutive Big Nine conference championships, and it’s clear that Vikings basketball has become something special in Bristol.

“It’s a great feeling,” Wade said. “It’s a big thing for this area.”

btsmith@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2569

2008-09 Tennessee High girls basketball
28 wins – second-best in school history
4 losses – tied for fewest in school history
5 consecutive Big Nine conference championships

2008-09 Tennessee High senior class
105-29 varsity record – most wins of any senior class in the school’s history
4 Big Nine championships
2 District 1-AAA tournament championships
4 city championships
Appearances in Region 1-AAA tournament, sub state and state tournament in 2009
Cumulative grade-point average of 3.73
Vikings seniors: Sarah Baker, Cheyenne Thornsberry, Ashton Keen, Danielle Montgomery, Sara Wysor, Susan Graham, Elizabeth Vance, Erica Grinnell