Polar Bear Express Leaves Station for State

The Polar Bears gather for a group photo after a pep rally in advance of their State tournament game.

UPDATE: In a game that went down to the wire, North High School lost to West Des Moines Valley 57-55 to bring their historic season to an end. Thank you to the North boys basketball team for a great season, and for rallying the entire community behind your team and your school. We’ve posted photos from last night’s game and yesterday’s pep rally at the bottom of this story.

Climate change is threatening polar bears in the wild. But locally, they’re thriving thanks to the climate change at North High – and it’s spreading. Schools districtwide are hitching onto the Polar Express that’s on a 12-game roll heading into tonight’s rematch in the boys’ state basketball tournament with defending state champs West Des Moines Valley at Wells Fargo Arena. North defeated Valley in a regular season contest in January.

A noontime pep rally at the school today released A LOT of pent up pride as the Northside rises to the occasion of its first state tourney berth in too long. And the Polar Bear bandwagon has grown throughout the community as schools in every neighborhood – regardless of which high school they may eventually go to – are showing their support for North.

Morgan Wheat is one of Coach Chad Ryan’s varsity assistants. In 1988 he starred for Valley before heading off to play college hoops at first Vanderbilt and later Iowa State where he was a teammate of former Polar Bear great Hurl Beechum. Beechum led North to its last appearance at state in 1991.

But there’s no team like the present one, and leaders Tyreke Locure, named yesterday to the Des Moines Register’s All-CIML first team, and Jal Bijiek, a second team selection, were literally in the spotlight during player intros at the rally. So was the state qualifier banner that now hangs from the gym rafters.

Today’s pep rally also celebrated recent success ranging from wrestling to robotics to the academic decathlon, making clear that the basketball team is just the latest example of the new atmosphere at North.

Principal Mike Vukovich reported that as of Wednesday morning the school had sold more than 1,400 tickets and counting at a school with an enrollment of only about 1,300. Got yours?

Tipoff is scheduled for 8:15 PM. All aboard!