Legendary Harvard-Westlake girls coach Melissa Hearlihy looks out for boys, hopes for historic sweep
SACRAMENTO — She had just celebrated her second state title and 839th victory, when Harvard-Westlake girls basketball Melissa Hearlihy was asked how her program and the boys team co-mingled.
The programs can become the 12th in modern history (since 1981) to win state titles the same season from the same schools.
Harvard-Westlake's boys play Salesian for the Open Division title at 8 p.m.
The girls beat Colfax 60-45 for the D2 championship earlier in the afternoon. She sits behind Mater Dei's Kevin Kiernan, who just announced his retirement this season at 900 wins.
Hearilihy told a hilarious story of how the boys — particularly star players Trent Perry and Nikolas Khamenia — have supported the girls and how "excited" the girls are to cheer the Wolverines toward history tonight.
(See her answer above)
Check out the schools who have accomplished the dual championships previously.
The double champions
(Boys/girls state champions the same year, same school)
Schools to do it twice
Mater Dei: 2011, 2012
Ripon Christian: 1988, 1994
Branson-Ross: 2007, 2008
Bishop Montgomery: 2000, 2001
One-timers
Bishop O'Dowd: 2015
Chaminade-West Hills: 2014
Menlo-Atherton 1989
Mitty: 2012
Sierra Canyon 2019
Sir Francis Drake (now Archie Williams) 1982
Windward-Los Angeles: 2011
(Information compiled by Sac-Joaquin Section assistant commissioner Will DeBoard)
