In the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, a local high school now has a reason to celebrate. Mainland Regional High School of Linwood was declared the winner of Under Armour’s “Finding Undeniable” school spirit competition.
The award was announced Thursday night during Under Armour’s All-American football game at the Tropicana Dome in St. Petersburg, Florida.
More than 900 schools nationwide competed to show their spirit, complete challenges and collect votes. In the end, Under Armour chose Mainland because they were impressed with the school’s passion and ability to overcome adversity by rallying its students and community.
Four of the school’s football players died in a car accident on the Garden State Parkway back in August. Edgar Bozzi, 16, Caesy Brenner, 17, Nick Connor, 16 and Dean Khourty, 15 all lost their lives in the crash.
“They’re looking down on us smiling because I know if I was up there and he was down here, he’d be doing the same thing,” said Casey’s cousin Jake Brenner.
“If anything came out of this loss, it’s a sense of school spirit and community,” said Mainland’s Principal Mark Marrone. “It’s just unbelievable.”
Mainland will receive $140,000 in athletic gear and material for the next two seasons. A team from Under Armour is expect to visit the school in the next few weeks to deliver the prize. But even greater than the physical award is the overwhelming feeling of pride amongst the student body.
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“With everything that happened to us we were at a really low point,” said Chris Kaczmaiski, a Mainland football player. “We felt like we couldn’t get any lower and finally it feels like everything is starting to turn around for the better.”
