By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
Special to Hays Post
MANHATTAN — Troy Schulte and Dave Losey are both quite familiar with the mixed bag of emotions that go along with playing in a state basketball tournament.
Back in 1988, the standout duo helped lead Thomas More Prep-Marian to the Class 4A state tournament but lost in the first round.
They were again instrumental in helping the Monarchs advance to the Class 4A state championship game the next year.
Thirty-four years laster, the duo reunited at the Class 2A State Championships in Manhattan this past week.
There were a lot of ups and also some downs in 1989 for Schulte and Losey, who enjoyed a successful senior season but were disappointed about losing the championship game in that 4A state finale.
It was an emotional roller-coaster ride for them again this weekend.
Schulte is now the activities director at TMP, and Losey is the head basketball coach at Horton in northeast Kansas.
As luck would have it, when the brackets for this year’s 2A state tourney were released, TMP and Horton were paired together in the first round.
Losey, in his first year as the Chargers’ head coach, was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his team had dominated Riverside in the sub-state title game.
Horton hadn’t had a winning season since 2016 and had endured back-to-back two-win seasons during that stretch.
Under Losey this year, the Chargers rebounded from a midseason slump when they lost six of seven games to win nine of their last 10 and advance to state.
“It was all pretty surreal, even getting to state,” admitted Losey, who started three juniors and two sophomores this season. “Then when I saw we were opening state with TMP, I was stunned.”
TMP was entering state on a 20-game winning streak with its senior-laden squad, and Losey knew his young team was in for a battle in the first round.
The more experienced TMP won that game, 52-27, ending Horton’s late-season run.
Nonetheless, Losey knew he would return to Manhattan for the tournament later in the weekend to support the Monarchs.
TMP seemed to have the game in hand late in both Friday’s semifinals and again in Saturday’s third-place game before coming up on the short end of both close contests.
The former teammates are now in their early 50s, carrying a few more pounds and sporting a little less hair.
But they have had mutual respect for each other since Schulte’s eighth-grade team at Kennedy Middle School in Hays handed Losey’s Plainville squad its only loss during the 1984-85 season.
Following graduation from college, they both went into teaching and coaching and even coached together at the same school in Missouri one year.
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Schulte said. “So it was really nice to reconnect.”
Losey and Schulte met in the arena before the first-round game, and Losey made the trip to Manhattan again for Friday’s semifinals.
“We knew that was going to be a tough game against TMP,” Losey said. “But I still wanted to see (the Monarchs) do well the rest of the tournament. It’s always great to see your alma mater succeed.”