The St. Louis High School’s boys’ cross country team, which won the 2020 Division Three state championship, will be memorialized with a banner in the Shark Tank. The banner, which has been donated by Meijer, portrays the seven runners who ran at the State meet as they hold the championship trophy. 

Athletic Director Bryan Anderson shared, “The company that made the poster reached out to us that Meijer provides a free poster to state championship teams.” The Sharks’ cross country coach Jay Puffpaff then sent the photo from the state meet to the company Giant Photos for enlargement, and Meijer donated the banner that was created to SLHS free of charge.

Coach Puffpaff shared, “We can’t thank Meijer enough for donating this poster. It really means a lot to leave a legacy here at St. Louis High School.”

The team is very grateful and excited about being honored with the banner. Junior Aaron Bowerman was first for the Sharks in the state meet race as he placed ninth overall and earned all-state honors. He shared, “I think that it’s really cool and really considerate of the local community to be buying this for us in our gym. I feel that it’s something that really makes me feel special and supported by the community.”

Finding a space in the Shark Tank to hang the banner is still in the works. However, Mr. Anderson shared that there will hopefully not just be a space for this banner, but also space for future banners. He stated, “We are ecstatic about this poster. However, there will be room for more state championship banners.”