The MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard headed to the Nation's Capital Wednesday, Jan. 10 to honor both the
St. John's (Washington, District of Columbia) football and
St. John's (Washington, District of Columbia) girls soccer teams for their amazing championship seasons. Typically, each tour stop honors one team. But St. John's was doubly great in 2017.
Allison Diaz's 20-1-1 girls soccer program kicked off the duo invitation by upending Sidwell Friends 3-2 in the
DCSAA state championship contest on Nov. 11. Then, a week later, Joe Casemento's 9-2 football team responded with a 30-7 triumph over Gonzaga in the
Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game to push for the double invite. Request granted.
Before kicking off the celebration, the Tour of Champions displayed the Army National Guard national ranking trophies during St. John's lunch periods, allowing all students the opportunity to see the trophies up close and visit with District of Columbia Army National Guard Sergeant First Class Melissa Jankowski.
MaxPreps Representative Armand Milanesi kicked off the main event by introducing the Tour of Champions to the students. After explaining just how unique St. John's duo celebration was, Milanesi finished his congratulatory message by informing the audience that their girls soccer and football teams finished
No. 12 and
42nd respectively out of the 16,000 teams in MaxPreps National Rankings for both sports.
Milanesi introduced SFC Jankowski, who spoke about the commitment to excellence that both coaching staffs have instilled at St. John's and into their football and girls soccer programs. Stressing the importance of leadership, SFC Jankowski spoke about commitment, dedication, hard work and perseverance, all shared traits of a championship team and the Army National Guard.
With the local District of Columbia Army National Guard contingent by her side, SFC Jankowski presented the Army National Guard national ranking trophies to Diaz and Casemento as the room erupted. Diaz and Casemento were both thrilled and humbled by the national attention and thanked both the District of Columbia Army National Guard and MaxPreps for recognizing their athletes. It was a great day at St. John's College High School and congratulations on your fantastic seasons!
Click
here and
here to view both the St. John's football and girls soccer TOC photo galleries and for more information about the TOC, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
