TopOfTheCountry 2006: Kingston Wyoming Seminary (Pa.)

Congratulations go to Wyoming Seminary Collegiate Preparatory School in Kingston, Pa., which won the 2006 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AA championship with a 24-0 record.

After a 1-0 victory over Pennsville Upper Perkiomen in the title match, the Blue Knights were presented with the TopOfTheCountry trophy, emblematic of the finest team in all the land.

The TopOfTheCountry trophy is four feet high, topped with an oversized white sphere, representing the pinnacle of the game of field hockey in the United States.

The four different-colored columns symbolize the foundations upon which the game is built:

* The green column is for the vibrant youth field hockey culture, both in scholastic and club play;

* The navy column is for the national team program, to which all field hockey players can aspire;

* The red column symbolizes the blood and sweat of all those players and coaches who have sacrificed their time, selves, and souls for the game of field hockey; and

* The light blue column is for supporters of field hockey, whether parents, friends, or just plain fans.

The Knights play in perhaps the toughest conference in the country, the Wyoming Valley Conference. Sometimes, the team has to play rivals like Mountain Top Crestwood, Lehman Lake-Lehman, and Wyoming Valley West as many as three or four times a season to get through the state tournament.

It was a team which pundits may have discounted because of the dismantling of the nation's best young midfield due to a couple of offseason school transfers. But the team matured quickly and showed, with some outstanding early results, that they didn't lose a single step.