Well, it’s the end of February once again, which always seems to mean two things in the Washington Area: the coming of spring and the second oldest and most prestigious high school basketball tournament in the area, the Sleepy Thompson Invitational Basketball Tournament at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School. This marks 53 continuous years of excellence in high school tournament competition.
The original aim in sponsoring this tournament was to bring together, at the close of the season, independent and private schools with similar academic and athletic objectives. We did so to enable the players, faculty, student body, parents and alumni to enjoy competitive basketball in a friendly environment where an atmosphere of sportsmanship and comradeship would prevail. This continues to be our goal each year, and we welcome all of the teams with the hope and anticipation that they share our reasons for sponsoring this tournament.
Back in 1957, when we moved to our present location, the athletic director and coach, Al “Sleepy” Thompson, decided to begin a new tradition to go along with a new location and a new gymnasium, and he created the inaugural “St. Stephen’s Invitational Basketball Tournament.” That first year Christchurch School from Saluda, Virginia, Charlotte Hall from Southern Maryland and Norfolk Academy from Norfolk, Virginia, all joined the Saints for the first tournament.
ST. STEPHEN’S prevailed in this inaugural event with a hard fight and exciting 53-46 victory over Norfolk Academy. In 1958, the field was expanded to its present format of eight teams, with a guarantee of three full day of hard-fought, exciting basketball.
Over the years, many players who participated in the tournament have gone on to play in the college ranks, including Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Notre Dame, Stanford, Randolph Macon, Maryland, James Madison, American, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Washington & Lee, Cornell, Wake Forest, Vermont, Massachusetts, William & Mary, Old Dominion, George Mason, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Colorado, Virginia Commonwealth, Gettysburg, Georgetown, Providence, St. Bonaventure, U.C.L.A., California, and Connecticut, just to name a few.
We are extremely proud of the traditions we have established over the years. We realize that we are a small private high school, but we take pride in the fact that over the past 53 years we have provided a great tournament atmosphere for the coaches, players, parents, faculties and alumni. We are constantly working to improve what we do and continue to strive to be the best we can be.
Last year’s 53rd annual classic continued our tradition of excellence in high school competition. Thursday’s opening contest pitted the Maroon of Episcopal (15-7) against the Panthers of Potomac School (17-9) of the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC). The Maroon forged a 17-5 lead by the end of the first stanza and increased the margin to 35-14 by halftime. The Maroon cruised to a 65-41 victory, behind the play of seniors Given Kalipinde and Jordan Martinez, with 17 and 13 points each, to advance to Friday’s first semi-final.
