The 5th Annual MaxPreps Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard made its way from Virginia to sunny Florida to honor
Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) High School's boys' varsity basketball team during a community celebration on Thursday evening, April 14th. The Panthers finished the season 32-1, won the Florida 5A state championship and finished #7 in the country from over 20,000 teams according to the MaxPreps Freeman rankings.
There was a buzz around the school immediately upon arrival. Everyone was excited for the Army National Guard national ranking trophy presentation to their beloved Dwyer Panthers. The arena was packed with local media, friends, family and fans who were all enthusiastically awaiting the ceremony. Athletic Director Tom Pagley and Principal Dr. Lee described how the Panthers "took no prisoners this year," completely running through the competition during the playoffs on their way to their 3rd state championship in school history.
MaxPreps representative, Jason Alpert riled up the crowd with a riveting speech about how this team was so gifted and the pride that each fan and player should have for all they had accomplished this season. After announcing the Panthers had finished among the top 10 basketball teams in the country, the crowd erupted. Staff Sergeant Benjamin Carman from the Florida Army National Guard recalled his last trip to Dwyer High School, the year before to honor the Panthers football team for their top 5 national ranking. He inquired if there was just something in the water, as Dwyer is now placed in small company as schools that have won the Tour of Champions honor in two-sports. Head coach Fred Ross discussed the only possible way to have a better season would have been to erase their only blemish on the season in a controversial loss. He then stated how proud he was of his players and how much he looked forward to the challenge of repeating again next year.
A thrilling performance from the Panthers Cheer Squad followed the trophy presentation and then the fans received a sneak peak of the championship rings that will be presented to the team in the coming weeks. The ceremony concluded with two of the team captains raising this year's championship banner, capping off an incredible season for this year's Florida state champions.
Congratulations Dwyer!
