COLUMN: How to part ways with a historic Class of 2026

Six years ago, the month of April began a bright spot for yours truly.In the midst of a pandemic that shut down virtually everything, there was a five-week stretch from April into May where, for about two hours each week, I escaped to the world of the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls.The ESPN documentary The Last Dance pushed up its release date and gained worldwide popularity at an opportunistic time thanks to the worldwide shutdown.

Michael Jordan was no stranger to me — I had heard enough stories from my dad about his ability to seemingly break the laws of gravity — but the 10-episode series made me feel like I had actually lived through each of his six championships.That documentary left such a big imprint on me that I’m just one of many who can sometimes get caught in the trap of referring to any final season for a team or an athlete as “a last dance.” It’s an easy slogan to slap onto a group that has been together for so long and has one last chance to check a box.

Sometimes, it’s a fair comparison. Other times, it’s just lazy wording.When I look back on the 2025-26 high school athletic season, I find that the description is appropriate for more teams and more athletes than I can count.

The Class of 2026 was historic in so many ways that I feel like I just watched Episode 10 and the credits are rolling over a dark abyss of black pixels. Where did the time go?The state championships won by NorthWood’s Naima Ghaffar and Westview’s Noah Bontrager is obviously at the top of the list of accomplishments by this year’s graduating class.

Ghaffar (a Grand Valley State recruit) won her second state title this winter. After competing against the boys for two years (and beating many), Ghaffar never let up once girls wrestling was approved by the Indiana High School Athletic Association. She was 86-2 in her final two seasons for the Panthers.

Bontrager deserves all of his flowers following a four-year timeline of distance dominance in the Hoosier State. The four-time state champion an