Wichita Heights boys win Kansas-record 60th straight game

There are no magical minerals in the Wichita, Kan., water supply, according to Rick Wheeler, who is the athletic director and head football coach at Heights (Wichita, Kan.).

"If it was, we'd keep it a secret," Wheeler told MaxPreps.

Both the boys and girls basketball teams are experiencing phenomenal success at Heights, and they're drinking the same water as everyone else. On Tuesday night, coach Joe Auer's boys won their state-record 60th consecutive game by defeating Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kan.) 54-42. The girls team, coached by Kip Pulliam, notched its 41st-straight win, beating Carroll 61-30.

"It's a real sense of relief," Auer said Tuesday night. "You want to accomplish it (the record) so you can move on with your season. I'm very relieved and don't think I'll truly enjoy it until the season is over. I thought we played our tightest game in a long time. How could you not? It's just human nature to press a little bit."

He predicted, "They will be the happiest kids in Kansas when they wake up tomorrow."

The girls have a long climb to reach their state record, which is 91 consecutive wins by Little River (Kan.) from 1993-98. The boys' last defeat was in December of 2009, while the girls lost their final game in 2010. 

With drinking water eliminated, Wheeler sought concrete reasons for success.

He first credited the veteran coaches. Auer is in his 17th year as head coach, while Pulliam has been in the girls program for 13 years, the last eight as the head coach. Auer is seeking his fourth consecutive Class 6A state title, while Pulliam is bidding for his second-straight and fourth overall.

"Both are kind of institutions," Wheeler noted. "There's something to be said about consistency. We have a culture that includes high expectations to win and out-work our opponents."

He pointed out that last year the Falcons won five state titles and became the first school in Kansas history to win state titles in football, boys basketball and girls basketball in the same year. Other factors, Wheeler added, are a stress on athletes playing multiple sports, a great weight training program and strong relationships between coaches in all sports.

Until the Falcons tied the record last week, Auer said coaches never had discussed the winning streak with the team.

"One of the big reasons for the winning streak," he said, "is that we haven't been focused on that. It's been one game at a time. It's such an unusual accomplishment, because we've had high school basketball in the state for 101 years. It's never been a goal of ours. We want to win our conference and the state. This is a byproduct of that pursuit.

"Most importantly, we've had terrific players. Perry (Ellis) gets the most notoriety, but we have great chemistry. We have an outstanding group of unselfish kids who don't care about anything except winning. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They've all been very good students and take care of things off the court. There are no distractions."

Auer concedes that luck probably has played a part in the streak, too. He noted, "We've played a lot of close games. We don't blow people out. We could lose any night. An injury here, bad call there, a missed free throw and it (the streak) just doesn't happen."

Perry Ellis, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior forward headed to Kansas, is the centerpiece of the boys team. He is averaging 27.2 points and 10 rebounds and is his school's fourth McDonald's All-American. The others - also household names - are Greg Dreiling, Aubrey Sherrod and Antoine Carr. Darnell Valentine graduated just before the McDonald's game was created, but he obviously belongs in that elite class.

The No. 2 scorer is 6-1 senior guard Terrence Moore, who averages 12.9 points and is headed for Division 2 Emporia State. The other double-figure scorer is 6-7 senior Gavin Thurman, a Missouri State recruit who averages 11.9 points.

Moore and Ellis have started every game in the record winning streak. Except for Ellis, a 4.0 student, Wichita Heights has produced only one other Division I player during the winning streak. Point guard Evan Wessel earned a scholarship to Wichita State.

That's quite a contrast to the girls team, which graduated four Division I players last year, has four more this year and at least three juniors who will likely play Division I. They also don't play close games, though they did have one seven-point victory this year. They are averaging 68.7 points on offense and yield only 30.1 on defense.

Senior point guard Taylor Chandler, a four-year starter, averages 11.3 points, 4.7 steals and 3.6 assists. But the leading scorer is 5-8 junior shooting guard Katie Palmer at 15.1 per game. The third double-figure scorer is 6-0 senior forward Joyea Marshall at 10.1, plus 8.6 rebounds.

Jada Lynch, a 5-9 junior guard, also averages in double figures (10.6), though Pulliam prefers to bring her off the bench to produce instant offense.

Pulliam, who was an assistant coach on two other state champions, admitted, "I thought we were going to drop off, but these new kids have taken over. They keep us on the radar and the younger kids benefit. The greatest thing is that the coaches get along. When the kids see that they buy into it."

The girls play the preliminary to all of the boys' regular-season games, so they tend to feed off each other throughout the year.

"We set the table for the varsity," Pulliam said. "I hope, maybe, it's contagious and they feed off of us. Our girls go into the student section and cheer the boys on. We root for each other and try to keep the streaks alive. It's been a lot of fun."

Auer pointed out, "The kids on our teams are very close friends. We practice in the same gym. Both are there to cheer for each other almost every night."

The interaction continues off the court, with Thurman dating Palmer and Ellis helping Chandler with her physics class.

"We always get together, even off the basketball court," Chandler said. "We're all real close, not just on the court. We all want to win a state championship and defend our titles. I just enjoy the chemistry we have between all the coaches and players. You learn how to grow up. You become better players and better persons."

Agreeing with Chandler, Ellis said, "We all are good friends. We talk and support each other."

He credits the boys' winning streak to "team chemistry. There are no complaints over little things. We never give up. We've had some close games, but we fought through it."

Veteran Wichita Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz calls the boys' win streak "one of those things that are cyclical. Seems like it has snuck up. Heights has had an amazing run. Everybody talks about Perry Ellis, but they have a bunch of really good players. They put an all-city team on the floor most nights. Perry is certainly the star that stirs the drink, but it's a very good drink.

"It's good that Perry got Wichita back into the national discussion. On my personal list of the Top 50 city league players I've seen (in 38 years), I rate Perry at No. 3. Ricky Ross (Wichita South) is No. 1 and Darnell Valentine is No. 2. Perry was our first three-time all-stater (and headed for No. 4). Perry really came along this year. He started developing more physically. Bodies just bounce off that kid."