BELOIT TROJANS, Boys Basketball

Members of the Beloit Trojans boys basketball team have been named the NCKSSports.com/Cunningham Telephone and Cable Athletes of the Week.

Beloit finished an outstanding 2023-24 season with a 3rd Place finish at the 3A State Tournament in Hutchinson on March 9.  The Trojans qualified for State for the 20th time in school history with a 47-40 win in the Sub-State final over Nemaha Central on March 2.  They opened the State Tournament on Wednesday, March 6 with a dominant 56-42 win over Topeka-Hayden, leading by 30 at one point in the 4th quarter.  In the semis, the Trojans suffered a tough 68-49 loss to a red-hot Wellsville team who eventually won the 3A State title.  Beloit bounced back from that loss with a 51-37 win over league rival Southeast of Saline to take home the third place trophy.  Beloit swept the season series 3-0 against Southeast of Saline with the victory.

This year's squad picked up many accolades along the way.  They had winning streaks of 10 and 13 games with only one regular season loss sandwiched between those.  Finishing 24-2, they tied the school record for most wins in a season.  The Trojans finished 10-0 in the NCAA, winning an outright league championship for the fifth time in the past 12 seasons.  It was also the third time Ryan Eilert's squad has gone undefeated in the league in that time.  This year's undefeated run was even more impressive as along with Beloit, three other teams qualified for State, with Ellsworth and Southeast of Saline in 3A and Sacred Heart finishing 3rd in 2A.  For their efforts this season, four players were named to the first team in the All-NCAA selections.  Seniors Bryce Beisner, Quinn Eilert and Noah Gerstner were joined by junior Eli Johnson as all-leaguers.

We will announce the winners each week. Remember, you can nominate an athlete from any school sport.