The top-seeded Springville Orioles sealed a three-peat Class 1A championship Saturday night at the Iowa high school state girls’ basketball tournament in Des Moines.
Moments later in the locker room, the triumph of capturing state glory vanished for one player.
“I just broke down,” Kelly Kirchmann, a sophomore on the team, told KCRG-TV. “I was having such a great day and we were in the locker room partying and my coach came up to me and told me,” Kirchmann said.
Firetrucks were sent to Kirchmann’s home in Linn County around 3:20 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said the residence was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.
The homeowners, Mark and Christina Kirchmann, were home at the time and were grilling, the Gazette said. Mark Kirchmann was taken to a hospital for treatment of what’s believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
The fire remains under investigation.
After learning what happened, Kelly Kirchmann’s teammates and coaches rushed to comfort her and took it upon themselves to help.
