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The NMAA state basketball championships were allowed to finish even as COVID started to emerge in March, but games at the Pit ultimately were held without fans. (Jim Thompson/Journal)
The drill is, I sit down in mid-to-late December, sift through the previous 12 months, both in my head and in our archives, and extract my choices for the top five high school sports stories from that calendar year.
There was very little sifting required this year. The year’s top five prep stories are, unfortunately and not surprisingly, a somber quintet of headlines. COVID-19 was the story none of us could escape, and we remain even now in its persistent clutches as we look forward to what we hope will be happier – and busier – times in the new year.