By the time Emily Ryan played her first basketball game as a Central Plains freshman during the 2016-17 season, she had already seen so much winning by the Oilers. Her older sister, Janae, had been part of three state titles, along with their dad, Jim, an assistant coach.
"When I was in fifth, sixth grade when my sister was on the team, I thought they were the greatest," said Emily Ryan, who now plays at Iowa State. "They started the streak and had an incredible team…. I walked into a situation that was so good. The culture, it's something I'll never forget."
Central Plains girls own the state record with 138 straight victories. The streak started in the first game of the 2015 postseason and ended in the third game of the 2020-21 season. The previous streak was Hoxie's 107 straight wins.
During the Oilers' incredible streak, the players and coaches refused to talk about it. When a fan brought a sign commemorating their 100th straight win, the players were mad.
And when the streak ended, so many tears fell.
But this streak isn't about every victory spanning seven seasons.
It's so much more than that.
For Addison Crites, who graduated in 2020, the streak is also about decorating Christmas ornaments at Zoe Potter's house to hang on the tree in the locker room, listening to the same warm-up playlist every day and celebrating coach Pat Stiles' birthday with an ice cream cake.
"This winning streak just shows how many great players and coaches Central Plains has had over the years to create such a winning culture and has been etched in the record books," said Reagan Phelan, who graduated in 2016 and went on to play at Washburn.
Stiles agreed.
"We have been so, so fortunate and blessed to have such a run of very talented players," Stiles said. "They were also great students and people. We had some very, very talented players who went on to play college ball – Reagan, Taylor (Rolfs) and Emily – but we also had so many solid role players around them that stepped up big when we needed them to."
Stiles also appreciates that Title IX gave his daughters the opportunity to play sports – and get their college paid for.
I had an older sister, and she was real athletic, but there was not much around for her to do," he said.
For Ryan, Title IX isn't something she has focused on.
"Fortunately, I haven't had to think about Title IX a whole lot," she said. "But I am aware of what it means, what it stands for and how important it is."
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Winning streaks don't just happen. Oh, there's some good fortune, a little luck.
"There were a couple games that could have gone either way. Everything just felt into place. To have a streak like that, you have to have a little luck on your side, as well," Ryan said.
In the 2015 season, Central Plains beat Ellinwood – who ended their previous winning streak in the final game of the regular season – in the sub-state finals when Janae Ryan hit six three-pointers.
There was the 2016 season, when Central Plains trailed Hill City by five points in the final few minutes of the state semifinals.
In 2018, the only close games were by margins of nine and 16 points. In 2019, the closest game was in the championship game when the Oilers beat Hanover 52-34.
"It takes some luck when you have something like that," Emily Ryan said. "... To win as many as we did, you had to have something else in our favor.
"We believe we created our luck with the extra reps. The basketball gods look down and reward those who put in more work than is required."
The work ethic is undeniable.
"The girls who were part of that streak … they were very good, and they wanted to get better and better," said Central Plains principal Toby Holmes, who coached nine years at Claflin and the first year of the new school. "They worked at it. They were in the gym before school. I'm here at 7 in the morning, and there's kids in the gym. You could see it coming and see it happening every year.
"The streak is amazing, but the work ethic and the time that was put in, that's what I don't think people understand."
Kassidy Nixon, a current senior, was nervous at basketball practices as a freshman because the veterans had already accomplished so much.
"I thought they were intimidating at first, however, I noticed their work ethic and their unbelievable leadership skills during practices and games," Nixon said. "If it wasn't for them pushing us to be our best every day in practice my freshman and sophomore year, we would never have reached our goal of that seventh straight state title my junior year."
Often overlooked among all the players, wins, practices, parents, managers, fans is Stiles.
"Pat's phenomenal," Holmes said. "They don't understand how much time and effort he puts in. He scouts everyone. He's got a scouting report on an 0-20 team. He puts in all kinds of time and effort…. You can't find a more humble human being than Pat."
Stiles drove the bus for several years, so Holmes got his bus endorsement to drive instead.
"It takes a lot of people to be successful, and everybody is willing to do that. Everyone is willing to sacrifice for our kids, whether it's boys, girls, tennis, volleyball," Holmes said.
Ryan added: "I think some people think, 'it's a small program, maybe it's easy to crawl out of bed and beat other schools.' It's not like that. Pat prepares us. He loses more sleep than anyone else. He deserves so much credit."
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Taylor Rolfs and Reagan Phelan were two key players from the beginning, and were critical in Central Plains going 26-0 and winning its first title in 2014 over a talented, veteran Jefferson County North team.
The final Oilers' lineup in that game included Rolfs and Phelan, both sophomores, and freshmen Janae Ryan, Kylee Kasselman and Cassidy Crites.
I knew we could do something special in those next few years," Phelan said. "I played with a truly special group that were able to joke around and work hard.
"In the moment, you don't realize just how special what Central Plains is doing really is. But looking back, you can truly appreciate how incredible all of these runs have been for state titles.
"... I don't think we ever expected the winning streak to happen. But once we kept winning and us seniors finished our careers, and being able to see what great talent was coming up behind us for Central Plains, you start hearing more and more about the streak – you think, 'hey, this might actually happen.' "
Central Plains was 25-1 in 2015 when it beat Moundridge for the title.
"Even though my group was toward the beginning of the streak, it was fun to watch the classes come after us and keep the legacy going," Rolfs said.
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During Emily Ryan's freshman year, she took over at point guard with four seniors.
"She was such a leader, even as a freshman," Stiles said. "When she came in as a freshman, i had a bunch of seniors starting, four seniors starting around her. She was such a leader even at that time, talking constantly in practice, always encouraging. Communication-wise, such a leader as a freshman."
Central Plains went 26-0, beating Wabaunsee 60-48 in the championship.
The 2018 season, though, Ryan was a sophomore with four new starters.
"Those kids came together and won state," Stiles said.
Addison Crites, who graduated in 2020, credited what was already in place for the continued success.
"This team was one of the best experiences of my life," Crites said. "By the time I entered high school, we had already won three state championships in a row as a result of strong principles and ethics that were already established."
Ryan admits to not enjoying the streak as much as she should have.
"As a team, I don't think we appreciated it as much as we should have in the moment because we were locked in," she said. "But I was able to appreciate how special it was, and how special the people were.
"It was a perfect storm, when you look back on it. Everybody bought into the team result. No one cared about individual numbers and statistics. We were trying to make each other better. The goal was to win the next game."
The goal was always setting up a better situation in the postseason – winning did that.
But Ryan and the Class of 2020 didn't get a chance to play for a state title their senior year after the state tournaments were canceled due to Covid-19 following the quarterfinals.
"That was the first time in our four years that we walked away disappointed from a game or a tournament," Emily Ryan said. "Up until then, it had gone perfect. It was a heartbreaking moment for the seniors. We had one goal in mind: win another state championship. We felt we had the pieces to do it.
"Looking back, maybe we learned more from not being able to finish the season and appreciate more what we had. We wish we could have had that state championship because we believe we could have won."
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The pressure mounted in the 2020-21 season.
"We had lost four starters," Stiles said. "And the team before that was just so powerful. The kids felt the weight of the streak. I wanted to deflect as much pressure as I could.
"At the beginning of the year, I talked about 'what happened in the past doesn't matter, it has nothing to do with it. We just need to be the best team we can be.' "
The streak ended against Phillipsburg.
"I felt terrible for them. There were so many tears and crying," Stiles said. "They were a big part of the streak. They weren't starters, but they logged minutes and were an important part."
And they continued the Central Plains success by going 22-3 and winning another state title.
"Every year it felt like we had so much pressure to keep the streak alive," senior Kassidy Nixon said. "Everyone just expected us to win every year. Last year when the streak ended, it hurt us a lot. There were many, many tears that night and the next day.
"But we felt so much relief after that. It helped us to just play the game and enjoy it rather than worry about keeping the streak alive. And all that didn't stop us from coming back and winning our seventh straight title…. We felt that we had something to prove, and we did just that."
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THE STREAK
2013-14 - 26-0, Class 2A state champs
2014-15 - 25-1, Class 2A state champs (lost last game of regular season. Streak starts in postseason).
2015-16 - 26-0, Class 2A state champs
2016-17 - 26-0, Class 2A state champs
2017-18 - 26-0, Class 2A state champs
2018-19 - 27-0, Class 1A state champs (passed Hoxie's 107-game streak in sub-state)
2019-20 - 25-0, (season ends after state quarterfinals due to Covid-19)
2020-21 - 22-3, Class 1A-II state champs (streak ends, third game of season).
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