Many high school basketball players dream of winning a league title.

For the Hiland Lady Hawks, it has become an annual reality.

Hiland did what it had to do to gain sole ownership of the Inter-Valley Conference title Wednesday, Feb. 11. The Lady Hawks wiped East Canton off the floor in a 54-19 victory on senior night in Berlin.

And when Garaway upended Ridgewood — the lone team with a shot at tying Hiland — in a 50-40 Lady Pirates win about 90 minutes after Hiland’s victory, head coach Dave Schlabach’s program had sole possession of the IVC crown, Hiland’s 20th consecutive league championship.

“This one means a lot,” said Schlabach. “This was a year when we took a look at everything the teams in the league had coming back, and looked at what we lost to graduation, and realized that it was going to take a pretty special effort to win another league title,” said Schlabach. “We got it from these kids, and we praise their effort and celebrate the achievement they accomplished. The IVC is as good as it has been in a long time, and this group went out and worked for this one.”

Schlabach said that he and former long-time assistant coach Rob Moser would often talk early on about not wanting to be a team which won titles when the athletic, talented classes came through. What they had in mind many, many years ago when Schlabach started a quarter-century ago, was to create a program that picked up where the previous one left off.

Four State titles, a record 14 State tournament appearances, and those 20 straight league titles attests to the success of that idea.

“It comes from the commitment and heart of the kids,” said Schlabach. “There has been a lot of sacrifice in those 20 titles, and we won’t ever take them lightly. There is a lot of pride and commitment in what they have done, especially this year.”

This year six seniors have given their all to the program. They range from leading scorer Megan Beachy, to defensive stalwart Rachel Horn, Alex Troyer is the rebounding genius and heart and soul of the Lady Hawks team, while Mackenzie Miller, Juanita Miller and Sabrina Miller have accepted their roles off the bench.

Schlabach said each has been an integral part of what has developed into a true team this season, with players understanding their roles and accepting the idea that they are willing to do whatever they need to do to help win games.

“I am thrilled for this group of seniors, and this whole team, because I know how hard they have worked and sacrificed to get here,” said Schlabach.

How many teams in the state of Ohio have won 20 straight league crowns? Chances are good that you can count them on one hand.

Chances are also extremely good that there won’t be any time soon that Schlabach and his teams will ever take even one of them for granted.