Fayetteville High School is hosting the Class 7A state basketball tournament for the first time since 1987 this week in its newly constructed gymnasium. The boys earned a first-round bye, but the girls lost to North Little Rock in a rematch to the 2009 state title game.

When I walked into the gym, Jeff Sider, the public address announcer for FHS, was playing songs from 1987 which, though funny, drove home how long it really has been since the tournament was at FHS. The new gym is a true jewel and the first day went quite well.