On Thursday morning, April 26th, the 5th Annual MaxPreps Girls' Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard rolled into Riverdale Baptist High School, located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland just east of Washington, D.C. The Lady Crusaders won the NACA Championship after a 38-2 season, and finished an astounding No. 10 in the final MaxPreps Freeman poll out of a pool of over 20,000 girl's teams across the country!
As we arrived on the Riverdale Baptist campus we headed directly to the church where the ceremony was being held. The Riverdale Baptist campus church was a beautiful building and the perfect setting to honor another highly nationally ranked championship team. Students entered the church for the final chapel of their school year, and waited anxiously to see their team receive this prestigious award. The trophy presentation was preceded by two outstanding performances by the school's drama and performing arts department which set the tone for this exciting morning.
As the performances concluded, the church lights dimmed, which signaled the beginning of our trophy presentation. The crowd was greeted by the Tour of Champions congratulatory video in which MaxPreps' President Andy Beal describes the tour and personally congratulates the school on their outstanding accomplishment. Once the video had concluded, MaxPreps representative Kevin Lynch explained the Freeman ranking system to the crowd and how much effort the Lady Crusaders contributed to earning the No. 10 ranking in the entire U.S.A. Kevin then turned the presentation over to Maryland Army National Guard Sergeant Christopher Chatmon. SGT Chatmon was elated to be able to honor a team in his community and related how the Lady Crusaders' dependence on each other to form a championship team is similar to Army National Guardsmen reliance on other soldiers in order to complete a successful mission. SGT Chatmon then presented Head Coach Diane Richardson with the coveted Army National Guard national ranking trophy. Coach Richardson was proud to receive the prestigious award and thanked MaxPreps and the Army National Guard for honoring her team.
After the ceremony the Lady Crusaders posed for photo opportunities and interviews in their new, commemorative Tour of Champions t-shirts, with their new hardware and championship banner in hand. The Lady Crusaders were an outstanding, respectful group of girls to honor, and many of the graduating seniors plan to continue their basketball careers at high major NCAA Division 1 colleges next season.
