Upward trend under Strawoet culminates with district title
PHILADELPHIA >> There isn’t going to be anyone doubting Perkiomen Valley anymore.
Not after Friday night’s District 1-AAAA Championship victory.
Not after the Vikings answered the bell each and every time this season.
No, for the Vikings’ girls, they will always be known as ‘the first.’
The first girls team in school history to win the PAC-10 Championship … and now, the first team to claim the District 1 crown.
How about that?
“It’s crazy,” senior KT Armstrong said. “We’re definitely making a lot of history this year, a lot of noise. We’re just trying to keep this going.”
Armstrong and the Vikings, in only the second year of head coach John Stawoet’s tenure, have authored a new chapter in the annals of Perk Valley history, joining a bevy of teams that have made the jump from mediocrity to superiority.
All because of the foundation set from Day 1.
“We started two years ago to try and put it all together,” Strawoet said. “Open gyms, fall tournaments and it’s all paying off right now, all that hard work is paying off right now. All 19 of these kids have contributed. We have five or six freshmen that didn’t dress but they came to practice everyday. Everyone contributed to this big turnaround.
“We have stressed from Day 1, defense and rebounding. They bought into it. Our defense is what has carried us to this point, hopefully it can carry us a little further.”
GB: @PVGBBALL, @ChkenpARMSTRONG, @alligaTOR_40 accept the District title trophy pic.twitter.com/OQboabYeHx
— Sam Stewart (@Samuel_Stewart7) February 27, 2016
The win has guided the girls team on the upward tick that the cross country, football, field hockey, softball, swimming and track and field teams have experienced in the last 10 years. Their district championship becoming the most recent highlight of a Viking program that recently saw its softball team clinch its first PIAA appearance in 2015, and a football team that hosted its first district home game since the 2007 season.
To Strawoet, a man who has seen his fair share of games in the Valley despite only being the head coach for two seasons, it comes to no surprise. The foundation had been laid, and now the structure is being built — taller and taller as the seasons go by.
“I’ve been there for 30-some years,” Strawoet said, his smile still beaming 20 minutes after the final buzzer. “I was there when we got our butts whooped every game. It’s phenomenal. Everyone has just bought in. Our administrators, our superintendent was here tonight, everyone has bought in to make our school not just excellent in academics but in athletics as well. Those two can go together and I think we’re proving that right now.”
Sea of orange behind @PVGBBALL pic.twitter.com/wHgLzSMKEB
— Sam Stewart (@Samuel_Stewart7) February 27, 2016
Games like Friday prove his point.
Whether it be the 24 points that Armstrong dropped or the 13 points and 13 rebounds that sophomore Taylor Hamm poured in, the Vikings’ firm control of the entire game proved that the girls basketball team has made it past mediocrity … far past.
And as seniors, Armstrong, Tori Walter, Nikki Marino, Haley Streeper and McKenna Kohler all took the court in the final minute for a senior salute, the turnaround was evident. This was no longer the six-win team from two years ago … this was a district champion.
“It was emotional,” Armstrong said. “They’re my best friends. It was amazing to spend the last minutes out on the court with them, just the way we started freshman year.
“I think we definitely put ourselves on the map,” Walter said. “I think now everyone can see what we’ve accomplished. We put the mark on this program.”
One that won’t ever be forgotten.
