Beggs, Morris victorious in county tournament
OKMULGEE, Oklahoma — For the second year, athletes, families and spectators flocked to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Mvskoke Dome for the Okmulgee County Tournament (OCT).
This week-long event brought excitement to the county and the eight schools that were represented in the tournament.MCN Director of Tourism and Recreation Kyle Lee feels it is an honor to be the host site for the annual county tournament.
“This is one of those events where you haven’t seen friends in awhile, chances are you would see them here at the tournament,” he said. “It is an honor for us to hold something where friends can reunite and catch up for a bit and see some great basketball too.”
Sixteen teams representing the eight schools competed in a week-long tournament that left standing one boy and one girls’ team who had the right to call themselves Okmulgee County Tournament Champions for the 2019-2020 season.
The Beggs Demons repeated as OCT Men’s champions while the Morris Lady Eagles were crowned champion for the Women’s.Not only does OCT bring competition to the Dome, but it also brings revenue for the schools and Tribe.
“We do everything here but the gate,” Lee said. “The gate is split within the schools and it helps with their athletic departments.”
Lee thinks moving here helped boost the attendance being a neutral site for the schools.“We are great partners with the schools and if we can help them with their funding then it benefits all of us,” Lee said.
Lee said that so far, they have been hearing nothing but positive comments for the upgrades to the Mvskoke Dome.
“We talk to the superintendents and athletic director’s of each school about the tournament a lot,” he said. “We want to try and be on the same page with everyone.”
Lee also said that the support they get for this tournament helps attract the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletic Association attention for them to be considered a host site in the annual basketball playoffs.
“Not only are we bringing people throughout the county to the Dome, when the playoffs are here and if we are a host site, we bring people throughout the state to see our facilities,” Lee said.
Lee said it is the teams that bring everyone out but it is the volunteers that help everything move along.“We could not do this without them (volunteers),” he said. “They have been such a wonderful help to all of us. Whether at the concession, hospitality room or just helping whenever they can, the volunteers are great.”
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