George Rogers Clark Boys Join The Girls as Kentucky Basketball State Champs

GRC outlasts St. Xavier in overtime to cap a championship sweep, marking the first boys-girls title double by one school in nearly a century.

George Rogers Clark celebrates after winning the 2022 Sweet 16 Championship at Rupp Arena in Lexington. March 19, 2022 2022 Sweet 16 Championship Game | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

George Rogers Clark High School pulled off a rare sweep of Kentucky high school basketball state championships, Saturday evening at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The boys' team became the Kentucky boys’ high school state champions, defeating St. Xavier, 58-50, in overtime, joining the GRC girls' program, which earned a state championship last Saturday in the same building.

An Accomplishment Last Achieve in 1928

State titles don’t come easy, and such runs are rife with pitfalls. The last time a boys and girls team from the same school each won a state championship in Kentucky was, reportedly, in 1928, as Ashland High School pulled off double titles.

Just ask Covington Catholic and North Oldham. Either one seemed destined to play in Saturday’s final. Yet CovCath was dismissed early, and North Oldham couldn’t get past GRC.

It was a tough loss for the St. X Tigers, who were hoping to end their 64-year state championship drought in front of a crowd of nearly 12,000 people. The last Sweet 16® title contest that went into overtime was in 2014, when Covington Catholic played Scott County. GRC won it all in 2022 (a one-point victory over Warren Central) under current coach, Josh Cook, and notched its first title in 1952.

GRC Perserved Throughout a Long Journey to Glory

And it was a hard-fought journey for the Cardinals. Like the namesake of their school, George Rogers Clark, the GRC team persevered and never succumbed to the forces and pressure that accompany lofty goals. Rogers Clark was an adventurer, soldier and administrator who became a key figure in the founding and establishment of Kentucky and Indiana. His younger brother was William Clark of “Lewis and Clark” fame.

GRC surged through February, after losing to Lexington Catholic Feb. 3, but then encountered a roadblock at the end of the month. The Cardinals surprisingly fell to Montgomery County in the 40th District championship game. However, they made amends in the 10th Region final, downing Montgomery County by 12 points. Then a somewhat strong playoff run put them in Saturday’s championship contest against St. X.

The Montgomery County loss was a blessing in disguise, as it exposed weaknesses. Since that district final loss, Cook, in the spirit of Rogers Clark, pushed his players as they battled through the remainder of the postseason.

“Adversity made them state champions,” Cook said in a post-game press conference.

The players beside him called it a blessing.

“Every moment right now is a blessing,” said junior forward Montez Gay. “All glory to God.”

GRC and the spirit of George Rogers Clark are now 3-0 in state championship matchups.