Name: Brooke Paxton
 
Job title: Volleyball Director
 
Email: brooke@triplecrownsports.com
 
Hometown: Greeley, CO.
 
Family: I come from a family of 5. My parents Kim and John are high school sweethearts and have been married for 35 years. I have two older sisters, Haley (29) and Laiken (28).
 
College attended/graduated: Johnson and Wales University, Denver/2021.
 
Sports background: Played everything I could growing up but decided to pursue volleyball in college and played as an outside hitter/libero for four years.

Proudest moment: Winning a state championship with University High School volleyball in 2021 as their assistant coach.
 
Most humbling defeat: Has to be against Flynn and Cavo at the company party while playing spikeball. I have never felt more unathletic in my life!
 
Hobbies/interests: I love to read, watch sports and eat unhealthy amounts of ice cream.
 
Favorite trip: That would have to be to Dallas, TX. I was with my team and we ended up upsetting U Dallas while we were there and it was a lot of fun.
 
How you became associated with Triple Crown: I started out as a catcher on the Triple Crown 16U team in high school. After that my sister started working here, then my dad, and now me.
 
What intrigues you the most about Triple Crown?: I love the family environment and the uniqueness of what this company actually does. Being able to give back to youth sports after it taught me so many life lessons is really great.

After yet another wildly successful run this year, the TC Volleyball NIT is dialed in for its next appearance on the calendar!

The 2023 TC NIT will be held President’s Day Weekend, Feb. 18-20 at the Kansas City Convention Center – College Camp Friday and our popular Unsigned Senior/Junior Workout will take place on Feb. 17.

You can look for updates on the event website. Contact Sarah Dannettell (sarahlauren@triplecrownsports.com) if your club hasn’t played in the NIT before and wishes to be considered, or if your club wants to bring an additional team to the event. 

Name: Kristin Conor
 
Job Title: Sponsor and Vendor Coordinator
 
Email: kristin@triplecrownsports.com

Tell us about your family, kids, siblings, parents, names, ages etc.:
It's just my dog, Maya, and me that will be living in Fort Collins. Dad - Steve Stepmom - Anne - both live in MN with the rest of my extended family. Siblings - Matt (25), David (23), Ally (21) - all live in CO still, Grace (19) - at school at GCU in AZ
 
Hometown: Lone Tree, CO
 
College Attended / Year Graduated: Fort Hays State - 2017
 
Sports Background (proudest moment and most humbling defeat):
​I played volleyball from nine years old until my sophomore year of college. Both my proudest moment and most humbling defeat would be my freshman year of college playing at the University of Cincinnati. I had reached my goal of playing the sport I loved as a division 1 athlete and, although it was not a successful season, I created lasting relationships and proved to myself how much strength and perseverance I had inside.
 
Hobbies/Outside Interests: Hiking, reading, playing volleyball, traveling and learning new things - currently practicing Spanish and drawing! (Not very good at either)
 
Favorite trip taken as a child or adult: My first solo overseas trip was to see one of my good friends who lives in Germany. I got to see Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Innsbruck, Austria in a span of two weeks.
 
How did you find or first become associated with Triple Crown?
I knew of Triple Crown through the volleyball world because of the NIT.
 
Office Direct Number: (303) 249-3838
 
What intrigues you the most about Triple Crown?
I love the ability to be back involved with the sports world, now just on the other side of it of in assisting in running the events. There is a lot of opportunity of growth within the company and I appreciate the flexibility and family aspects Triple Crown provides. 

By Adam Burns
​
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On the biggest stage of the TC NIT, Munciana Samurai 18s was up for the challenge. Even if it was a daunting task.
 
The kids from Muncie, Indiana, bounced back after dropping the first set to take down star-studded Sunshine from Los Angeles (23-25, 25-22, 17-15) in a thrilling Elite Division Championship contest Monday afternoon inside Bartle Hall at the Kansas City Convention Center.
 
“They challenged us,” said Munciana outside hitter Eva Hudson, who recorded a match high 25 kills. “It was scary to come out here on the big stage, but to prevail is just amazing. We really came together as a team, which was great because (Sunshine) is such an amazing team.”
 
Highlighted by outside hitter Elia Rubin and setter Kelly Belardi – a pair of future Stanford Cardinal players – Sunshine boasted 11 Division I bound players out of the 12 on this weekend’s roster.
 
“How about that?” Munciana head coach and club owner Mike Lingenfelter said. “It had to be a street fight because they were so good.”
 
Like most of the match, the two sides stayed within two points of each other and endured 11 ties during the third and final set. Hudson and Lovie Wallace (uncommitted) each delivered a kill to knot the score at 14- and 15-all, respectively. Then, Hudson notched a crucial kill for a 16-15 lead prior to a game winning combined block from Wallace and North Carolina bound Ella Bostic.
 
“It was amazing,” Hudson said of her final kill. “I knew that I could swing away because my defense was going to cover me up. To have that confidence in each other is even that more amazing.”
 
Sunshine went 7-2 overall in the three-day NIT. On Championship Monday, they beat Tri-State Elite in straight sets (25-20, 25-21) and Skyline in two (25-23, 25-17). A5 Mizuno was the other club to beat Sunshine (28-26, 21-25, 15-5).
 
“The volleyball was very high level. (Munciana was) very, very tough,” Sunshine coach (LA) Ali Fathali Nejad said. “But we were happy because we had practiced for this situation. We were prepared and we knew this tournament was very tough. We had the path but unfortunately we had some errors. We have to go back and work.
 
“We’ll meet this team again in nationals and hopefully this tournament will prepare us for that.”
 
Munciana, which went 8-1 overall and beat Club V (25-13, 25-13) in the quarters and PVA Elite (25-18, 25-19) in the semis on Monday, relied heavily on the right arm and hops of the 6-foot-1 Hudson throughout the title match, especially late.
 
Hudson, who recently decommitted from Notre Dame due to the departure of former Irish coach Mike Johnson, hammered home eight of her team’s 17 points in the third set.
 
Lingenfelter wouldn’t have it any other way.
 
“I can tell you this,” he said. “In the last possession, if we got the transition, I told them to get it to (Hudson). She got us to the dance, so we’re going to dance with her. … That kid is as good a player as I’ve ever had. And I’ve had some pretty good ones. What’s amazing is that she’s a really gutsy player, but it’s something that’s lost in volleyball today; she’s got great volleyball IQ. She feels the game, I mean, and I think the special one’s do.”
 
Tight until the 20s in the first set, Sunshine used a 5-1 late run to claim the opener. The Los Angeles squad then started the second set strong with a 6-3 lead. However, a big-time block from Liberty University bound Brooke Elliott and kills from Wallace and Hudson ignited a Munciana 6-1 run and 9-7 lead. But, more importantly, a jolt of momentum and confidence.
 
“One of the questions I had coming in here was their tenacity and their willingness to win,” Lingenfelter said. “How hard are they willing to work?”
 
Sunshine responded, eventually tying it at 15-15 and 17-17 in the second set, but Hudson slammed home two kills and UMKC bound Kimora Whetstone added another kill to help send the title match into the decisive set claimed by the Indiana club.
 
And, of course, playing in front of a roaring crowd and an ESPN3 broadcast, Munciana came through in a big way.
 
“We’ve been fighting for these moments,” Hudson said, “so it just feels good to finally feel that glory.”