The 14th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard passed through Illinois on Thursday, January 17 to recognize
Naperville North (Naperville, Ill.) High School and its boys soccer team for winning a state championship and earning a high national ranking.
Having upended Libertyville 1-0 in the
IHSA Class 3A state championship contest, the 26-0 Huskies became the first Illinois boys soccer program to win three straight state championships and earned the No. 1 ranking in
MaxPreps National Rankings! The first unbeaten and untied boys state soccer champion in Illinois, Naperville North earned an invitation to the Tour of Champions for the second straight year.
There is no doubt that the 2018 season took plenty of hard work and sweat equity under the leadership of head coach Jim Konrad, who clearly learned how to pour his heart and soul into his player's lives in order to create the strong cohesion Naperville North displayed during his 15th season.
"The playoff run was awesome! Beating Marquette was awesome, but we are all friends and we play for each other, not ourselves," said Ty Konrad, the Husky coach's nephew.
Staff Sergeant Justin Wise of the Illinois Army National Guard was on campus to set up and display the Army National Guard national ranking trophy for the entire student body to view, drumming up plenty of hype for the upcoming trophy presentation.
SSG Wise kicked off the celebration by addressing the crowd, Konrad and the Huskies before speaking briefly about discipline and teamwork, shared character traits of the Army National Guard and a state championship soccer team. After concluding, SSG Wise presented Konrad and the Huskies with a nationally ranked rafter banner and the prestigious trophy as the crowd rose to its feet in appreciation of Konrad's program. Certain to soak up this memory of a lifetime, the Huskies were proud to be recognized for their hard work and accomplishments.
Click
here to view the Naperville North TOC photo gallery and for more information about the Soccer TOC, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
