When the Panther boys soccer team defeated Shorecrest to take home the WIAA 3A state championship, they didn’t just show athletic excellence — though they showed that in spades. They made school history.

The cup is the first state championship won by an interscholastic athletic team since Bonney Lake High School opened in 2005.

The Bonney Lake City Council recognized the team for it’s pioneering accomplishment.

“My favorite comments since these guys have won have not been from these guys,” assistant coach Randy Jones said, gesturing towards the team. “They’ve come from their peers. I forgot what a state championship does to the culture in a community and in a school.

“It’s been really fun to listen to their fellow student athletes going ‘I want that for baseball, I want that for football.’ And I’m really excited to see what happens in this community with that one little spark. And these guys right here are responsible for that little spark with what they did.”

Mayor Neil Johnson awarded each Panther with a certificate of accomplishment for their part in the championship and all-league honors to the individual athletes who were recognized. At the end, Johnson awarded Jones and head coach Luke Helling-Christy, who was named all-league Coach of the Year.

“I’ve been chasing this for eight years now,” Helling-Christy said. “I had healthy competition with the other coaches in the building and I really really wanted to be the first coach to bring home a state championship. When I really stopped and thought about things, I haven’t really won anything for a school before … finally, to get the state championship, it really makes me feel valid in what I do.

“I’ll take credit for the 20 games up until the last game,” he continued, with a mischievous smile on his face. “But after that it was all about them. They figured a way to get it done. It wasn’t the prettiest, it wasn’t what I would deem the most tactically pleasing to me, but… who cares?”

At that last statement, the council chambers, packed with family and friends of the athletes, as well as the recipients of public works art awards, erupted into laughter. The council recessed as the team posed for a photo with Mayor Johnson on the front steps of the Justice Center.

When the meeting reconvened, the Council additionally honored senior Chelsea Crawford for her performance with the Panther fastpitch softball team and for being named the Class of 2013’s valedictorian.