Wes-Del (2,000) Built 1966
February 10, 2026: Blackford vs. Wes-Del (Boys)
February 10, 2026: Blackford vs. Wes-Del (Boys)
I started the Fading Gyms page on this blog a little over a year ago. I had a few exterior pictures of the old Brighton gym in LaGrange County and the old Cadiz gym over in Henry County on my phone, and I didn't really know what to do with them. I didn't think there was a very good chance of me ever gaining access to the inside of them, and from what I had heard, it didn't sound like they really resembled gyms anymore on the inside anyways. I went to a couple other places like these, and gave the pictures a dedicated place on the blog. Fading gyms are gyms that have either deteriorated to the point that they don't even resemble their former selves anymore, or have been remodeled into oblivion. I didn't think it would become much, but 15 months later, I have about 100 fading gyms on the page. There are a couple on there that I've thought might possibly be "reviewable" if I was able to gain access to them, but for one reason or another it hasn't seemed possible. One of these gyms is Gaston. If you would like a comprehensive history of the Gaston gym and school, you can click HERE and read about it on my friend Ted Shideler's essential blog Hiding in Plain Sight. Ted and I have both been fascinated by it for awhile now. The outside of it is unlike any other gym I've ever seen. It's been closed for awhile because of structural issues, and it seems that it will probably be doomed to the wrecking ball at some point. An April miracle happened though this last week. Thanks to some help from a kind employee of the town of Gaston, I was put in touch with someone who will be able to let Ted and I in to check out the interior of the gym. For the first time, I think I'm going to be able to move a gym from the "fading" category to the "reviewable" category, and I am pumped.
It's funny that this breakthrough came on the week I was planning on writing about the school and gym that Gaston was consolidated into, Wes-Del. Wes-Del sits smack-dab in between Gaston and the old Harrison Township high school site (which is now the home of the Wes-Del little league fields). These are the two schools that came together to form Wes-Del in 1966. The Wes-Del Warriors have played in their current gym since the school's inception. Both the boys and girls programs have had moderate success over the years. The boys won three sectionals in the single-class era and two 1A sectionals in 2003 and 2007. The girls program was downright dominant in the earliest days of the lady's tournament. From 1976-1979 they wont four sectionals and one regional. They were one game away from the state finals when they ran into Judi Warren and the first ever girls basketball state champions, the Warsaw Tigers. That is an incredible run for a school of any size, especially one as small as Wes-Del. The last 20 years have not been nearly as kind to the girls program. They've had one winning season since 2003. From 2008-2021, the most games they won was 4. This time period also included four different winless seasons. That almost feels impossible. A couple years ago they only played 6 games because they could barely field a team. I don't point this out to disparage them or pile on, it's just a reminder of how difficult it is for many small schools to build consistent and strong programs, especially on the girls side where numbers are dwindling more and more every year. It also goes to show how incredible those teams in the late 70s were.
I picked a good night to come watch the Wes-Del boys play this season. I rolled into the parking lot on a Tuesday night and was flabbergasted. I thought I was in for a run of the mill, sleepy small school weeknight matchup with Blackford. Boy was I wrong. I drove around three different sides of the school and gym looking for a parking spot. I ended up with a nearly 300 yard walk to the entrance to the gym. There was some kind of special recognition night going on at the game along with another school event elsewhere in the building. The place was hopping. My boys and I were able to find a spot nestled up in the far corner of the gym across from the band. Wes-Del was playing a good Blackford team with sophomore phenom Mari Leggett. It was a good game, and the crowd was in it the whole time. It reminded me a lot of when I went and visited another Delaware County school with a similar gym at Wapahani last year. The gym here isn't going to knock anyone's socks off on its own, but it just goes to show that even an average gym can be magical when Indiana high school basketball is at its best.
Calling a gym average doesn't have to be an insult, that's certainly not what I'm trying to do here. It's just a pretty standard place. Wes-Del's gym features a two-tiered setup that is right out of the consolidation-era playbook. There are 8 rows of plastic maroon bleachers on the lower sideline levels, and 9 in the upper ones. My only real gripe with the place is that a few years ago they exchanged a simple but clean 1990s-2000's look for a flashy and modern paint job throughout the entire place. It's almost exactly the same thing that happened nearby at Blackford and Cowan recently. It's not terrible, but it just feels a little more corporate and lifeless. The worst offense is that they painted over what looked like a killer mural up on one baseline wall from what I've seen in old pictures. That's the kind of stuff that makes me want to scream. That wall has now been painted a solid grey, and a newer generic Warrior head logo is in its place. What a loss! On either side of the Warrior head are zig-zagging streaks of maroon, white, and black with tomahawks overlaid on them. That part is cool I guess. The opposing baseline wall is still painted white. It's mostly covered with some basic screen printed vinyl athletic accomplishment banners and an even more basic Mid-Eastern Conference team display. Some bigger state championship plaques hang off to the side. Interlocking grey "WD" letters are painted on the furthest edges of this wall. "Wes-Del" is also written across one upper sideline wall and "Warriors" across the other. The court design is fine, it matches the rest of the gym nicely. The big Warrior logo sits at center court with "Wes-Del" written across the bottom of it. The floor is a light-tan/greyish color that has the hazy matte finish you find in some newer remodels. The inside of the foul lanes are maroon. The outside of the court is trimmed in black with "Warriors" written across the baselines in maroon. The court is named after Kay Saunders who was a legendary volleyball coach at the school, and her name is written in white block letters along the sideline perimeter of the court.
If I would have known about the legendary late-70s girls teams ahead of time, I would have looked a little harder for a team picture hanging out in the lobby somewhere. Instead all I found on my way out was a little Delaware County tournament trophy. I wish I knew a little more about the school's history or traditions that go beyond just the win/loss records throughout the years. Maybe I'll learn a little more this week when I go back to Gaston. I'd love to hear stories from the run those girls went on. They were truly pioneers in the earliest days of the girls tournament. Wes-Del is living proof that history and tradition can only take you so far. I hope the people here can find the right leadership and group of Lady Warriors to get girls program back on track. At some point they're going to turn it around, and it'll be a really cool story to cover when they do. This gym will be a fine place to watch it happen. It can be electric when it's full and people who are invested, I was lucky enough to see that firsthand.
