Photo: Grace Christensen, Amanda Hanley and Molly Goldberg at the championship game.

It was just past 4 p.m. on a hot, humid June Saturday in Beverly and the girls of Belmont High’s Rugby squad were sky high, having just made history winning the first-ever state championship in the sport, coming from behind to defeat Algonquin Regional High, 17-14.

In the midst of the celebration, three Belmont players – Grace Christensen, Amanda Hanley, and Molly Goldberg – looked over to Algonquin’s bench and saw a player standing with an ice pack on her lower left leg, finding it difficult to join the awards presentation which was about to take place.

“We saw her and thought she shouldn’t miss getting [a medal],” said Goldberg as she, Christensen and Hanley went over and escorted the injured player to the center of the field to be with her teammates

A photo taken by the Belmontonian of the instant was seen by a representative of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governing body for high school sports in the Bay State. On Nov. 17, the trio of Marauders and their coach Kate McCabe were invited to the 24th annual MIAA Sportsmanship Summit at Gillette Stadium to receive the “Sportsmanship Moment of the Year” award for their collective demonstration of fair play and understanding. 

Belmont High was recognized a second time at the meeting as the school was honored with an Athletic Sportsmanship Award within its MIAA state district for demonstrating overall sportsmanship throughout the 2016-17 school year.

Both groups accepted the awards from John Maguire, president and CEO of Friendly’s and Rob Pearl, MIAA Sportsmanship Committee Chair and Medway High School Athletic Director.