Additional Photography by Axl Norris, Grady Norris, and Jagger Norris/WHS Crusader Yearbook

The bridge tradition continues and evolves!  Every year the football players work in the pre-season to repaint the old bridge at Sellers Park in a tradition dating back decades.  Who is involved from year to year has evolved, as it was at one point only the senior football players and cheerleaders who contributed to the painting, but in the last few years, it has been a wider group of students putting in the work.

This year's design continues the very touching inclusion of a detail to honor our website founder and late local hero Steve Sturgis, a tribute started by the 2022-2023 students after Steve passed away the prior school year.  The bridge entrance where the football players would cross to the field starts with Steve's initials and--eagle-eyed viewers will notice--a letter "W" that is a nod to the "old school" football letter which fans can see on display in the hallway outside the gymnasiums at the school.  Up the ramp, they've painted a sprawling version of the Wellington water tower which transitions to a detailed bell tower, painted, I'm told, by Wellington Daily News photographer/local artist and high school parent Ursula Goff.  After the Class of 2025 Football, Cheer, and Dance participants' names in a hand-painted list, the bridge ramp descends with a stenciled Crusader logo and "TRADITION RUNS DEEP" at its exit. 

It's clear this year's group put a lot of thought into the design and paid attention to the small details, and perhaps the most heartwarming detail is this: the players invited their coaches' children to place their handprints along the edges of the bridge ramps, an idea the senior players credit to their fellow senior teammate Greer Buchanan.  What a great idea!

Kudos to all involved for keeping this bridge looking sharp year after year!

View the finished pictures taken by wellington.cc, and better yet, some very fun in-progress photos taken by new yearbook photographers/football seniors Axl, Grady, and Jagger Norris!  All are linked below!

FOOTBALL BRIDGE PAINTING 082324

Photos by Axl Norris, Grady Norris, and Jagger Norris/WHS CRUSADER YEARBOOK

COMPLETED FOOTBALL BRIDGE 083024

 (wellington.cc)