Township buys state championship rings for MV players
KAYENTA
The Kayenta Township purchased state championship rings for the Monument Valley Lady Mustangs, who captured their ninth state volleyball title last fall. (Krista Allen – Navajo Times)
Rennell Gilmore made a bold statement at the beginning of the season. She told the parents, “This team is going to bring back nine.”
With condescending sneers, she didn’t seem to impress them.
Many people doubted the young coach, who took the reigns of Mustang volleyball after the retirement of legendary head coach Lucinda Nash, whose teams captured eight state championships.
Gilmore, a Monument Valley High alumna, knew she had big shoes to fill.
After a three-year hiatus, the volleyball team won the Division III game, adding a ninth state championship to their dynasty. The girls outlasted the Glendale Cactus Cobras 25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-14.
Missed the championship game? Just ask Gilmore, who keeps a DVD of the win in her backpack.
“I can’t get enough of it – our championship game,” she said. “It’s in my bag every day. When I have time, and I’m caught up with all my work, I’ll put it in and watch it.”
Gilmore said a lot people in her community thought that there would never be another state volleyball title.
How did she know the team was going to win state championship? The off-season said it all.
“Day one, I knew it,” she said.
On Saturday, one-of-a-kind state championship rings were presented to the team to commemorate the day. Gilmore doesn’t remember if she dropped to her knees amidst shouts of joy from her players.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow