PICKERINGTON, Ohio — As the OHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament get closer, one school taking the court tonight is ready to turn up the heat.
What You Need To Know
- After earning 7 state titles in the school’s history, the Pickerington Central girls’ basketball team is heading into the semifinals
- The last time the team won a state title was in 2018
- Pickerington Central will go up against Olmsted Falls Friday night
In the last six years, Pickerington Central Tigers made it to the Final Four 3 times, earning a state title in 2018, and in 2019, the team came close as a runner-up.
“It’s a lot of tradition of winning over here,” said Coach Chris Wallace.
A good standing Wallace wants to uphold in his eighth season of coaching, second as head coach.
And to Wallace, winning is so much more than a game. It runs deep in his family.
“We like to win a lot in the Wallace household. So, that’s kinda a really cool tradition,” said Wallace.
Before his coaching days, Wallace used to be a pro baseball player. That athleticism has trickled down to his kids, like his son, Garner Wallace, who has earned two state titles in football and track.
While coaching on the court, his daughter Bexley was on their 2018 state championship team, while his daughters Berry and Blossom are currently on the team.
Wallace knew of the tiger’s reputation long before he became the coach.
“When I was growing up… one thing that led me to Pickerington… their girls’ baseball program in the early 90s was a national powerhouse,” said Wallace. “When I had a family, I thought ‘man, if my kids want to play basketball, there’s no better place to play than Pickerington’.”
Now, since switching over to coaching one of the top schools in the state, Coach Wallace hasn’t looked back: “Oh, there’s nothing like it. It never gets old… winning, going to the states. It’s just something you never get tired of.”
Pickerington Central is going up against Olmsted Falls on Friday night.
