Alex Abrami, Burlington Free Press
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Photo: BRIAN JENKINS/for the Free Press
It took Tom Prim a quarter-century to get a head-coaching gig. Waiting a couple extra games to reach 100 career wins shouldn’t have been a problem.
“I thought I would get stuck on 99,” Prim said.
Yet after five attempts at the milestone, Prim could finally exhale.
The Winooski Spartans provided a mild high school girls basketball upset on the road Wednesday night, besting Division II’s Milton for a 40-34 decision, giving Prim his sought-after victory.
“Milton is supposed to be the better team and we controlled the game, but I didn’t really expect it to happen tonight,” said Prim in a phone interview.
Joining the century club had its tense moments and near-misses. The biggest? The overtime home defeat to Peoples on Jan. 4, an affair the Spartans had all but wrapped up until a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
But that made Wednesday’s victory a little sweeter for Prim. Just like his career, Prim’s Spartans had their patience pay off.
“it means a lot, it means more because of where I’m coaching,” Prim said. “I’m not at a school that wins 20 games a year. If I was, it wouldn’t be a big deal. The girls definitely had to work for it.”
Coaching at the high school level since 1996, Prim was hired to lead the Winooski program in 2011. In Prim’s nine years, the Spartans have five winning seasons, captured the 2013 D-III title, their first in program history, and also reached the Final Four at Barre Aud in 2017.
“The title is more important, that was the highlight of my career,” Prim said. “Nobody expects you to win at Winooski and then when you do, it’s a great feeling.”
When he retires at the close of this season, Prim will have coached hoops for 35 years.
Contact Alex Abrami at 660-1848 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aabrami5.