– When it comes to seeing a team or individual state champion in 2021, 57.5 percent of respondents said they believe we’ll see one come from the local area.
Martinsville basketball, Carlisle baseball, Bassett football, and Magna Vista golfer Wil Gardner each received two votes on the question of who respondents think could win a state championship.
When asked what high school sport respondents follow the closest, 40 percent said football. Boys basketball was next with 15 percent, girls basketball was third with 12.5 percent, and boys soccer was fourth with 10 percent.
Football and boys basketball were in a virtual tie on which sport respondents think are the most closely followed in the area. Asked to rank the top three, 95 percent said football and 92.5 percent said boys basketball. Girls basketball was third in 47.5 percent. Baseball was fourth with 30 percent, and boys soccer was fifth with 20 percent.
– The next set of questions were about local rivalries. Of the respondents, 38.5 percent said Magna Vista was their school’s biggest rival; 28.2 percent said Bassett was theirs and 23.1 percent said Martinsville was theirs.
– More than half the respondents, 55 percent, rated the intensity of their rivalries at 10 on a scale of 1-10.
– Out of 34 responses to the question “When it comes to local high school sports, what are you most looking forward to in 2021?,” 15 said some variation of “just getting to watch games again.” Three said they’re looking forward to they themselves getting to play.
