ARCANUM – Arcanum High School will host its second Champions Night as it plays host to Franklin Monroe in boys basketball Friday.

Arcanum hosted its inaugural Champions Night during the football season and now is set to honor five more teams this week. It’s the first year of the program, which the school plans to host twice each school year.

“We want our alumni to know how important and valuable they are to the students of our high school,” Arcanum High School Principal Jason Stephan said. “I want our high school students to see some of the rich athletic history our students have. By seeing our past successes, hopefully it will encourage our current teams to strive to achieve excellence.”

Being honored at Friday’s ceremony will be the 1978 girls basketball team, the 1983 girls basketball team, the 1983 softball team, the 1993 softball team and the 1998 baseball team.

The 1978 girls basketball team went 18-1 and won conference, district and regional championships before losing to Ada in the state semifinals. The team, which was coached by Larry Patrick, averaged 68 points per game while only allowing 30 points per game.

The 1983 girls basketball team, which was coached by Michael Colatruglio, won the Cross County Conference title with an 11-0 record. This was the third championship in a row for the Lady Trojans, and they finished the season with an 18-3 record. The season came to an end against a good Valley View team in the sectionals.

The 1983 softball team continued an era of CCC dominance by winning its third straight championship. The team finished with a record of 13-2. The team was led by Larry Patrick and scored 15 runs per game.

The 1993 softball team also was coached by Larry Patrick and won a CCC championship. The team finished with a 12-4 overall record and a 10-1 conference record. The team was an excellent hitting team with a team batting average of .326 and averaged 12 runs per game.

The 1998 baseball team, led by Randy Baker, won the district championship for Arcanum. The team fell short from winning the conference championship but rallied together to make an outstanding run in the tournament. The team defeated Cincinnati Country Day to win the district title before losing to Bethel in the regionals to conclude its season.

Stephan said the Champions Night during the football season went really well and had really good attendance. Arcanum expects another good turnout Friday and hopes to continue to make the event better each time.

“Our hope is to see this event grow each and every year,” he said. “Arcanum Butler Local Schools is a great place and to have an opportunity to honor our successes is special each and every time we can do it.”

Larry Patrick coached three of the teams that will be honored this week, and members of his family – including Franklin Monroe Superintendent Jeff Patrick (the son of the late Larry Patrick) – will be in attendance.

Arcanum will honor teams beginning with the 15th anniversary of their championships and will honor them every five years.

Anyone who was a part of one of these teams but has not gotten an letter or anyone with questions may contact Arcanum High School Principal Jason Stephan 692-5174 or at jason_stephan@darke.k12.oh.us.