By GAYLE WEBER

gweber@dailynews.net

HILL CITY -- Excitement doesn't begin to describe the feeling across this town as students, parents, teachers and fans gear up for the Class 2A state basketball tournament in Manhattan this week.

Both boys' and girls' teams qualified for state, a feat that hasn't happened since 1984.

"The community just is really going crazy right now," Karen King said.

King coached the Hill City girls to their only state basketball title in 1976.

"That's really an achievement for them," she said.

And there will be plenty of red-and-white clad people in the stands at Bramlage Coliseum tonight and Thursday hoping the teams expand on that achievement.

But Chris Noltimier won't be one of them. She's been a Ringneck fan all her life. Her brother, Greg Deines, is the girls' assistant coach, and she knows most of the kids. But she'll be using the Bon Jovi concert tickets her husband gave her for Christmas instead of tickets to the state basketball tournament.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime deal for both things," said Noltimier, who said she will be listening to the games on the radio instead.

She said it gives her goosebumps just to talk about the teams going to state.

"It's just a thrill and an honor," Noltimier said. "I know all of the kids. They've just really worked hard for this."

And they've been exciting to watch during the course of the season, according to retired athletic director Joe Green.

"The girls are just fun to watch. I've never seen a team that shot that many 3s," he said.

For a while, Green was an assistant with boys' basketball coach Keith Riley, who is returning to the state tournament one more time. It was 40 years ago that the legendary coach won his first state title at Hill City.

"I think anytime you have a coach like Coach Riley ... he gets the most out of his boys," Green said of this year's team.

School has been canceled the next two days, extending spring break for students, to accommodate the trips to the state tournament. The Hill City girls will take on Blue Rapids-Valley Heights at 6:30 p.m. today, while the boys will take on Salina-Sacred Heart at 8:15 p.m. Thursday.

Also from northwest Kansas, the Osborne girls' basketball team will take on Spearville following the Hill City game today.