On Tuesday May 5th I pulled up to what looked like a small college in Nixa, Missouri. Nixa High School’s girl’s basketball team which finished the season 29-2, won its last 21 games including a 56-39 beating of Blue Springs on March 14 to capture their second Missouri State Class 5 championship. The Lady Eagles won their first state title in 2000. When I first arrived, I met with Sgt. McCall from the Missouri Army National Guard in the school’s cafeteria. Sgt. McCall was speaking to some of his friends who worked on the campus. He showed me around the school, particularly the facilities, which were absolutely incredible. The Missouri Army National Guard had set up a table with special give-a-way premium items for the students, from t-shirts to little footballs and much more.
Soon enough, Nick Reasons from MaxPreps arrived. Nick was equally excited to meet the Lady Eagles and veteran Head Coach Jim Middleton. The MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard was to present the National Ranking Minuteman Trophy during a school pep rally. The celebration was set to begin at 2:00pm, the last half hour of the school day. The entire student body came flowing in right as the bell sounded. The Lady Eagles’ cheerleaders began tossing out Army National Guard t-shirts and mini-footballs to the crowd. The beginning festivities were followed up by an introduction from Nixa’s Activities Coordinator, Karen McKnight, who introduced Nick Reasons from MaxPreps. Nick spoke about the team’s on-court statistics, as well as how unique of an accomplishment it is to be 1 of 10 girl’s teams nationwide to receive this coveted award. Nick then introduced Master Sergeant Leslie W. Clancy, who spoke about the similar values that the Army National Guard and the Nixa basketball team share, like loyalty and hard work. Then Master Sergeant Leslie W. Clancy presented the National Rankings Minuteman Trophy to Coach Middleton who thanked the players, fans, family, faculty and friends.
The school unveiled a 4’x 6’ team photo that was mounted on the gym wall next to the other Nixa state champion basketball teams. The school then roared their last N-I-X-A chant and we snapped some team photos with girls holding the prestigious trophy and wearing their customized Tour of Champions t-shirts. Lastly, the local print and television media on-site interviewed the coach and players.
The players were very appreciative of the award. The head coach was very gracious during the entire ceremony and faculty/fans were extremely enthusiastic. Overall, it was a memorable experience for the players! Hopefully, we will be back next year and do it all over again. Go Lady Eagles!