Clay High wins Sunshine State Spirit award

School's "Clay Crazies" help win school spirit award

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – There was a spirited celebration in Clay County on Friday, as students at Clay High in Green Cove Springs received the first ever Sunshine State Spirit Showdown award.

The students at Clay High have been dubbed to have the most spirit of any school in the state. Friday the kids celebrate the best way they know how, with a spirited pep rally. The group, now known as the "Clay Crazies," is made up of students who took school spirit to a new level this year.

"A couple of years ago we were at a sporting event and we were tired of just watching the games and not being involved so me and my friends decided we should come and cheer them on and that small idea just turned into something way bigger than we thought it would and this year it just excelled," said Andy Token, leader of the Clay Crazies.

The Clay Crazies earned Clay High the State's award for spirit. The contest is designed to promote sportsmanship across the state of Florida. Winning the spirit title is something that made Clay High Principal Pete McCabe very proud of his students.

"It shows the community and everybody what teenagers can do when they put their mind to it. You always hear about the negative; today you saw the positive," said McCabe. "Winning is contagious; everybody feels like we can do it, and they are doing it."

The Sunshine State Spirit Showdown award is the brainchild of the Florida High School Athletics Association. Clay High won the majority of the 10,000 votes that were cast across the state.