Photo by Korey Kesteloot. (Left to right) Marshall hockey players Abbey Foley, Avery Kesteloot and Ava Kolander take a photo together after winning a national championship tournament with the USA Hockey Girls Tier II 16U Premier Prep team in Virginia in April.

ASHBURN, Va. — Just six weeks after playing in the Class A State Tournament with the Marshall girls hockey team, Abbey Foley, Avery Kesteloot and Ava Kolander went out to the East Coast to claim a national championship with their USA Hockey Girls Tier II 16U team.

“It was probably one of the best experiences ever,” Kolander said. “The teams were good competition, and it was quite an experience to play people that were not from Minnesota. They were from around the country, which was really exciting.”

The trio played together on the same 16U team, Premier Prep Orange from Minnesota, paving an undefeated 6-0 path in the national tournament to earn a spot in the championship, which took place the first week in April.

Foley, Kesteloot and Kolander each appeared in every game and made significant contributions. Foley finished the tournament with two goals and an assist, Kesteloot recorded two assists and Kolander also scored a goal.

“It was so much fun to be able to go and experience that,” Foley said. “I’ve only ever played against Minnesota [teams], sometimes South Dakota teams, so it was cool to see how other states play hockey.”

Minnesota Orange finished first in its division, 2A – NHL, and led the league with 18 points following the tournament.

The team is a part of the Premier Prep High School Hockey League, organized by the Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association that participates in USA Hockey national tournaments. Foley, Kesteloot and Kolander made the team alongside 16 other Minnesota players to compete against teams from across the country.

“We got so lucky with our team, because all the girls were so nice,” Foley said. “It was so great making new friends. Like, I met 20 new friends by being able to play on this team.”

There was just one other Minnesota team competing, Premier Prep Grey, which Orange defeated 4-2 in the semifinals. The Marshall trio played against teams from California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Alaska.

As they do with Marshall, Kolander and Foley remained in their same positions as a defender and forward, respectively, but Kesteloot shifted roles from defense to playing forward with the premier prep team.

“It was really hard to adjust, but once I got the hang of it, it was really fun,” Kesteloot said about learning a new position.

In the championship game on April 6 against the East Coast Wizards out of Massachusetts, Orange scored two goals in each the second and third period for a 4-1 win and the national title.

Kesteloot assisted on Orange’s second goal, while Foley scored the third goal in the opening minutes of the third period to put the team up 3-0.

Minnesota also outshot Massachusetts 30-21.

This was Kesteloot and Kolander’s first years participating with the premier prep, and Foley’s second.

The three acknowledged how they felt this tournament run helped them develop as skillful hockey players, largely due to facing a wide variety of out-of-state competition.

“It’s very different, because in Marshall, we are very team-based. I’ve been playing with the same girls since I was young,” Foley said. “Then in this league, it was all new girls that we had never met before, and we learned how to play together against those odds.”

The experience became even more special when Foley, Kesteloot and Kolander were notified they made the same team, giving them an opportunity to embark on the journey together.

“We were all really excited, we all texted each other right away [when we made the team],” Kesteloot said. “It was really fun to experience with people I know.”

“We all made friends, and we got to play together still and challenge each other to be the best that we could,” Kolander added.

Their team started the tournament in strong fashion with an 8-3 win over the Golden State Eagles from California on April 2, with Kolander scoring a goal in the first period.

Orange continued to stay alive with wins over the Chicago Hawks, Boston Eagles, Alaska All Stars and Minnesota Grey prior to meeting the Wizards for the championship.

While enjoying the week in Virginia, the trio also got an opportunity to step out of the rink to adventure around the area.

“We got to do a lot of sightseeing with the team, and with our families, too. I went up with Abbey and Ava, and we stayed in a [house rental]. That was just really fun to spend time with them up there,” Kesteloot said. “We got to try a lot of different foods, too. We also went to the capital.”

Foley, Kesteloot and Kolander have had a busy, yet success-filled year of hockey.

The three helped the Marshall girls hockey team to a 23-5-2 season this year, including a Section 3A championship, a share of the Big South Conference title and a trip to state in February for the program’s fourth ever appearance, and first since 2018.

“I honestly don’t really have the words to describe it all,” Kolander said. “It was just really thrilling. It’s like, ‘Oh, you get to go be great and do this thing [state],’ and then [weeks] later, you get to do the same thing, but not in Minnesota.”

“It was all just unbelievable. Before both [state and national tournament], I’d never really gone on to the next level after, like a championship. Like, I’ve never won a championship to keep playing,” Foley said. “Then this year, with it happening twice, it was just an amazing feeling.”

All three will return to the ice for the Tigers next year, with Kesteloot and Foley entering their senior seasons and Kolander for her junior year.