The Mead High girls basketball team was honored on the MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard.
Photo by Army National Guard
The next stop on the sixth-annual MaxPreps Girls Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard brought us to
Mead (Spokane, Wash.).
Coach Quatae Anderson and his varsity girls basketball players finished their outstanding season with a 25-1 record and were ranked No. 1 in the state of Washington. Even more impressive, the Panthers finished ranked No. 40 by MaxPreps in the entire country out of more than 20,000 teams, and were 1 of only 10 girls basketball teams honored in this year's Tour of Champions.
Phil DeMuro, Lt. Col. Lieggi of the Washington Army National Guard and other Army National Guard members were on site for the mid-day assembly at Mead High, and the school was buzzing with anticipation. As the bell rang, faculty, coaches, players and family came piling into the gym, filling it to capacity. After the principal attempted to quiet the enthusiastic crowd, the stage was set.
DeMuro began the presentation by listing some of the accomplishments of the team as the crowd roared at every statistic. The crowd grew silent as Lieggi took over the presentation and began with a quote from legendary basketball player Michael Jordan, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."
This is an important lesson not only in sports, but something that can be carried on to any situation in life or in combat. After getting the crowd riled up, he presented coach Anderson and his team with their National Guard National Ranking Trophy and National Ranking banner. As coach Anderson held the Minuteman Trophy high at center court, the gym was filled with a deafening roar that was the culmination of months of hard work. It not only felt like a win for the team, but a win for the entire school.
After the ceremony, the stands spilled onto the court as family, players and students celebrated the accomplishment. Pictures were taken, interviews were conducted and players posed with the new trophy. You really could feel the energy and excitement from everyone around and this will definitely be a moment that all of these girls will remember for the rest of their lives.
