Photo by Precision Sports Entertainment
The 4th Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard made a stop on Friday, January 30th to recognize the
Bowling Green High School Boys' Soccer Team, who won their second state championship under head coach Craig Widener. Bowling Green, KY is a beautiful city that is also home to Western Kentucky University. The Bowling Green Purples finished No. 20 in the nation by MaxPreps with an outstanding record of 22-1-1, out of more than 15,000 high school varsity soccer teams.
The award presentation took place during halftime of a big rivalry boy's basketball game in front of a packed house of 1,000+ in the Bowling Green gymnasium. Sergeant First Class Nathan Connors of the Kentucky Army National Guard was on hand to present the team with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy. With the gymnasium packed, there was plenty of excitement and several local media representatives present.
As the first half of the boys' basketball game ended, the state championship soccer team came out to a thunderous ovation. MaxPreps Representative Dean Craig shared the process that MaxPreps goes through to determine the team rankings for the Tour of Champions, and reminded the audience of the tremendous accomplishments of the Purples' Soccer Team. Dean then introduced Sergeant First Class Connors who presented the ‘Minuteman' Trophy to Coach Widener and the team. The crowd cheered as the boys hoisted the prestigious trophy into the air and posed proudly for pictures. The entire team then moved out to a quiet class room for more pictures and interviews. SFC Connors also presented the team with Army National Guard Hoodies as a special gift for their great season.
The players, their families, Coach Widener, and AD D.G. Sherrill were extremely appreciative of MaxPreps and the Kentucky Army National Guard for bringing national recognition to their team and their city. It has rarely happened that a school outside of Lexington or Louisville has won the state, so hats off to this talented group of boys! Way to go Purples!
