Photo by Precision Sports Entertainment
The 5th Annual MaxPreps Girls' Volleyball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard made a pit stop in Jacksonville, Florida to honor the
Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) girls' volleyball team. After completing an impressive 31 - 1 season that included a major win against Merritt Island for the Class 5A state championship, the Lady Crusaders are also ranked nationally by MaxPreps. Out of 17,000 girls' volleyball programs, the Bishop Kenny Lady Crusaders ranked No. 6 in the country!
On Friday, Jan. 30, MaxPreps and the Florida Army National Guard visited Bishop Kenny High School to honor the team on their national ranking and award them with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy. For this presentation, the award was a surprise to both the student body and the players on the team. Only the coaches, athletic director and faculty were aware of the celebration for Friday.
During a huge Pep Rally that afternoon, MaxPreps and the Florida Army National Guard set up in the gym in preparation for the surprise announcement and award. Over 1,300 students and faculty filled the gym and watched a slam dunk contest, band performance and cheerleader rally prior to the award ceremony. Afterwards, Bishop Kenny athletic director announced that Dawn Santo of MaxPreps and MSSG William Kessler and SSG Trenton Harding of the Florida Army National Guard were here to make a special presentation for the girls' volleyball team and asked that the team and coaching staff make their way to half court. Dawn Santo introduced the ceremony and explained the Tour of Champions as well as the MaxPreps Computer Rankings. The players, students, and teachers were clapping and cheering wholeheartedly when they found out that their school's volleyball team was ranked in the top 10 in the country. Then, MSSG Kessler congratulated the team on their accomplishment and correlated many of the traits of a National Guard woman to that of a championship team, including loyalty, dedication and hard work. SSG Harding then presented Coach Suzanne Winkler and the team with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy.
Once the presentation was finished, Coach Winkler and the team took formal photos with the trophy and were interviewed by local television and newspaper media. Excited about the honor, teammates and coaches took turns taking pictures with the prestigious trophy.
Congratulations to Coach Winkler and the Lady Crusaders on a great season, state championship and national ranking!
