MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Blue Valley Southwest (Overland Park, Kan.) Timberwolves have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its eighth year honoring soccer.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For soccer, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 34,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Timberwolves ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Maize South 6-0 in the
KSHSAA Class 5A state championship contest on Saturday, November 3 marked the completion of an incredible 16-4 season — and earned Blue Valley Southwest an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
Aidan Bates and Luke Rafanan scored two goals each in Blue Valley Southwest's third straight Class 5A state championship contest, allowing the Timberwolves to secure back-to-back state titles at the Topeka-Hummer Sports Complex Soccer Stadium in Topeka. Aidan Lopez and Dawson Borninkhof also broke into the state championship scoring column for first year coach Erik Jones.
The Timberwolves opened postseason play with a 10-0 win over Topeka West before securing the regional championship with a 7-2 triumph over DeSoto. Blue Valley Southwest then kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 4-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas. The Timberwolves bumped Wichita Bishop Carroll from state championship contention with a 4-0 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Maize South.
Blue Valley Southwest opened the season with a 5-1 win over Shawnee Mission South. Then, following a 2-0 blanking of Blue Valley North, the Timberwolves edged St. James Academy 2-1 to open the season 3-0. Blue Valley Southwest lost only four matches all season and outscored its competition 87-28. The Timberwolves posted eight shutouts on the year and held 13 foes to one goal or less, while tallying a season-high 10 goals in wins over Topeka Seaman and Topeka West.
Having won its final 10 contests of the year, Blue Valley Southwest set itself up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only are the Timberwolves the top-ranked squad in
MaxPreps' Kansas Class 5A Rankings, Blue Valley Southwest is the best club in all of
Kansas. The Timberwolves are ranked No. 18 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Blue Valley Southwest Timberwolves an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium as we celebrate with the boys soccer team, coaching staff, students and fans on Tuesday, February 12 at approximately 7 p.m. at halftime of the boys basketball game.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
Photo Courtesy of Blue Valley Southwest High School
