The Fountain Hills High School athletic program has not one, but two new state champions to add to the list for the 2016-17 school year.

I’m starting to feel like a broken record at this point, but this is certainly a tune I don’t mind singing.

After playing through some hard-fought seasons, both the girls track team and the beach volleyball team have ended the year with their respective titles, bringing the athletic calendar to a close in tremendous fashion.

These teams join the indoor volleyball program, girls soccer and boys basketball as state champions for FHHS this year, bringing the total count up to five crowns in a single school year. I was unable to confirm it as of this writing, but I’m pretty sure that’s a record for the local teams, showing off just how talented our local student athletes really are. Not bad for a “small town school,” right?

Whoever is responsible for organizing all those trophies in the shelf and adding new lines to the team banners had their work cut out for them this year.

As for the coaches, Peter McGloin (beach volleyball) and Todd Brecto (track) could not be more proud of their athletes. They’re the kind of guys who are happy with their programs so long as everyone is putting in their best effort, but it’s easy to tell from emails and conversations that they’re just as excited for their teams’ success as the kids out on the field or court. It’s always fun to see their hype meters get cranked all the way up to 11 at the end of the season, and earning a state title somehow pushes those dials a click or two higher.

Of course, it wasn’t just the high school sports programs bringing home hardware in recent weeks. Coach James Collins and his middle school boys basketball team also recently wrapped a standout season, going undefeated and narrowly besting their final opponent to bring home this year’s title.

If we keep this up, people are going to start questioning what we’re putting in the drinking water in Fountain Hills.

*****

If I may shift your attention to the stage for a moment, I’d like to take this chance to also congratulate this year’s FHHS music program.

Under the guidance of Lynn Truby, this particular flock of Falcons has become synonymous with success, and that fact held strong at the final big competition of the year, the WorldStrides OnStage Music Festival hosted out of San Francisco.

Those boys and girls brought home plaques aplenty recognizing their musicianship and performance skills at a competition boasting 30 schools, as well as an Adjudicator’s Award for the symphonic band that highlighted their performance across all divisions.

If you want to hear more about that recent event straight from the students, then feel free to flip on back to page 1B and see what they have to say. These guys and gals continue to soar, and I want to congratulate them on yet another fantastic year of performances.