Sometimes the element of surprise makes an event or accomplishment even sweeter.

That’s the case with the surprising finish of the Lawrence High School girls and boys basketball teams in the annual state high school tournament.

Eight girls and eight boys teams advanced to the Class 6A state championship tournament last weekend in Emporia. The LHS girls were the seventh seed; the boys were seeded last among the field of eight. And yet, on Saturday, both the Lawrence teams played for a state 6A championship.

The LHS boys had knocked off first-seed Manhattan and fourth-seed Wichita Heights on the way to the championship game against Wichita Southeast. After a valiant early effort by the Lions, Southeast pulled ahead for a decisive 88-67 victory. The LHS loss came in spite of some notable individual performances including three great games by point guard Dorian Green, who scored 23, 17 and 24, respectively, in the three state tournament games.

Although the LHS boys certainly have reason to be proud of their end-of-season run, the LHS girls had even more reason to celebrate Saturday when they edged out Goddard by two points to win the state 6A championship. Goddard, the fourth seed, had knocked top-seeded Wichita Heights out in the first round. LHS got to the finals by beating the second- and third-seeded teams, Stilwell Blue Valley and Olathe South. The final game came down to a thrilling finish in which a determined LHS team scored five points in just over half a minute to finish off a 54-52 victory.

Wow. Local high school sports teams often take a back seat to the high-profile, high-dollar programs at Kansas University. But even on a weekend when the Jayhawk men clinched a share of the Big 12 championship, the two LHS teams garnered – and deserved – their share of attention around Lawrence.

Watching the underdog teams successfully challenge higher-seeded teams even reminded some of us of the Jayhawks in 1988. Athletic talent is great, but sometimes it’s the teams with the most heart that come out on top.

Congratulations to the LHS Lions on a great finish to the 2008 basketball season.