GREENVILLE – Greenville High School held its sixth annual Night of Champions Friday night, January 9, prior to the Greenville boys varsity basketball game against Tippecanoe, celebrating the school’s rich athletic tradition and welcoming championship teams back home.
“It’s a chance for our former athletes to come back, but it’s also a way for us to honor our history and show our young people that championships are possible here at Greenville because we do have a rich and storied history in our athletic department and our athletic programs,” said Greenville Athletic Director Aaron Shaffer, a GHS alum. “It’s always fun to get some of the old timers back out there. There were some familiar faces, some of our coaches were out there. It’s just a good time and night for Greenville athletics.”
Since 1955, more than 125 Greenville High School varsity teams have captured league, district, regional, or state championships. Each year, eight of those title-winning teams are selected and honored in front of the home crowd, recognizing both the teams’ accomplishments and the dedication of the student-athletes who earned those banners.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to bring back those teams and allow them to reconnect,” Shaffer added. “I’ve talked to some of the older guys, some of the wrestling guys that were here early, and some of these guys haven’t seen each other for 25 years.”
Helping make the annual event possible is Dr. Alex Warner, Class of 1967, and a member of the Greenville Senior High School Athletic Hall of Fame, who works alongside Shaffer to track down former teams and coordinate the ceremony.
“I would like to thank Alex Warner,” Shaffer said. “We started working on this seven years ago. Alex does a really good job of finding the teams and does a lot of the legwork putting it together to honor these teams. It’s something that he and I have worked on from the beginning, so Alex is a key to making this happen.”
Warner introduced this year’s honorees before a packed house, as family members, former teammates, coaches, and current students filled the gymnasium to recognize Greenville’s championship legacy.
This year’s honored championship teams included:
1970 Greenville Boys Track
1972 Greenville Baseball
1984 Greenville Lady Wave Softball
1990 Greenville Wrestling
2004 Greenville Girls Basketball
2006 Greenville Boys Tennis
2007 Greenville Lady Wave Softball
2011 Greenville Baseball
