At 8 p.m. on March 8, Mizzou Arena in Columbia turned into a sea of blue as many members from the Montgomery County community packed the place to see the Wildcats compete in the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown semifinals against Summit Christian Academy.

That got MCHS senior Jake Stellwagen pretty excited while he was being introduced during the starting lineups.

“I love it,” said Stellwagen, who transferred to MCHS from Verona High School before the school year. “It’s something I never really had before.”

MCHS competed in the Show-Me Showdown for the first time since 1974. Days before the event, several businesses in Montgomery City decorated their windows to show their appreciation of the Wildcats. Jonesburg and Montgomery City elementary schools held pep rallies for the team on March 7. Students from the Wellsville-Middletown R-I School District posed for a group photo at the high school gym wishing the Wildcats good luck at the State Final Four.

R-II Superintendent Dr. Tracy Bottoms getting big community support for an athletic team is important. When he was working as a superintendent as Monroe City years ago, he saw massive support from the Monroe City community when the school finished third in the basketball state tournament in 2020 and second in the football state tournament in 2016.

“These are lasting memories not just for our student-athletes, but for our staff, for our students, for our parents and for our community,” Dr. Bottoms said. “It’s been 50 years. Some towns never get there. Some districts never get an opportunity. This is the first one in 50 years on the basketball side. It’s exciting and it’s really fun to see the excitement on the kids’ faces, not just our players, but all of our students. I got two grandchildren at MCE and that’s all they talked about.”

MCHS qualified for the Show-Me Showdown for just the fourth time in program history after beating Priory 42-40 in overtime in the Class 3 state quarterfinal game on March 2 at Fulton.

At around noon on March 8, a parade was held for the team that started at Bratchers Market. The team was escorted by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and fire departments from Montgomery City, Bellflower, Jonesburg-High Hill, New Florence and Wellsville.

“It’s really exciting to see folks who have been following Wildcat basketball for 50-plus years,” Dr. Bottoms said. “I was at a meeting with the High Hill Lions and the first thing someone said was, ‘Exciting time in the schools, isn’t it?’ People are excited about what’s going on. They should be. It’s great for our community.”

MCHS finished fourth in the Show-Me Showdown after losing to Thayer 61-49 in the third-place game on March 9. The Wildcats lost 46-36 to SCA in the semifinals the night before.

Junior Clayton Parker said he was happy to see many of the Montgomery County community members make the one-hour drive on both days to see the team play.

“It’s great,” Parker said. “I think we have the best crowd here out of all of the four teams. The student section was rocking on the first night. We always had a great community behind us.”