County supes honor Oakland High School girls, Oakland Tech boys basketball teams for state championships
Oakland's most recent high school basketball heroes were honored by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday after bringing state championship trophies back to the town.
The Oakland High School girls and the Oakland Technical High School boys teams were both crowned victors in March at the CIF State Championship tournament in Sacramento.
The Oakland High Wildcats beat Montgomery High School from San Diego by a score of 56-50 for the Division V girls title and the Oakland Tech Bulldogs took down Bakersfield's Centennial High School 79-55 in the Division II boys game.
Both teams were honored with official congratulatory proclamations from the supervisors at the start of their regular meeting on Tuesday.
Oakland High School varsity girls basketball coach Nita Simpson, who is coming off of her first year leading the program, said she knew when she took the job she had all the pieces to make a deep run this season.
Simpson said the proclamation helps the team understand that adhering to a solid work ethic will pay off in the end.
"The goal is to see them work hard and be recognized for the hard work that they do so they will continue to put the work in," Simpson said. "When you think about Oakland and basketball, it requires a certain amount of resilience and when other people can see that, that's a beautiful thing."
Karega Hart, who has been coaching the Oakland Tech Bulldogs since 2010, said his squad is defined by their high character and their commitment to success in the classroom as well as on the court, which helped them steer clear of distractions and focus on the ultimate goal.
"I'm definitely thankful just to have the opportunity to get recognition for my student-athletes and Oakland Tech," Hart said. "They put in the work like teams before them, just kind of the stars lined up for them this year."