Two Niceville High School softball players made it to their graduation ceremony Thursday night thanks to community support and careful planning after their team’s 7-2 state semifinal victory over St. Thomas Aquinas earlier that day.

• The Lady Eagles won their semifinal game Thursday afternoon in Orlando, the same day as Niceville High School’s graduation ceremony. With advance planning and assistance from Destin-based Legendary, parents arranged for the two graduating seniors to fly home in time to walk across the stage with their classmates.

Emma Kowal and Emma Sites, the team’s two seniors, along with their parents, flew from Sanford Airport to Destin after the game, landing at 5 p.m. local time — two hours before the 7 p.m. graduation ceremony.

“Emma Kowal is my daughter’s best friend and she has a twin, Jackson. Their mom was devastated that they were not going to be able to graduate together,” said April Shackelford, whose daughter Anabelle is a junior on the team.

Shackelford works as Executive Assistant at Legendary Corporate and approached the company’s president, Pete Knowles, about using the company plane. Legendary flew the parents down to Orlando Thursday morning for the game, then flew them back with the seniors after the victory, ensuring their cars remained in the Niceville area for Friday’s return trip to Orlando.

• The company provided the aircraft and pilot at no charge, with the nine passengers splitting only the fuel cost of approximately $1,500, or about $166 per person. By comparison, renting a similar aircraft would have cost $1,600 per hour plus $1,000 daily for the pilot, in addition to fuel costs.

“My entire job is logistics,” Shackelford said. “This is what I do all day. I make plans. I keep schedules, I do all of it. I thought, ‘I can make this happen’.”

After graduation Thursday night, the families drove back to Orlando to rejoin the team.

Principal Charlie Marello began Thursday night’s graduation ceremony by recognizing the entire softball team, specifically having the seniors stand and explaining to the crowd how they had flown home to participate in graduation.

The Lady Eagles are preparing for Saturday’s state championship game against Winter Springs. The quick turnaround allowed the seniors to participate in graduation while maintaining their commitment to the team’s championship run.

• “They were so excited. It was just fantastic,” Shackelford said of the players’ reaction to making both events possible.

Fort Walton Beach High School is playing in the 4A championship Friday night, ahead of their own graduation ceremony. The Lady Eagles plan to watch Fort Walton’s game and support their friends before focusing on their own championship preparation.

“It’s just such a small community. All of our friends play at Fort Walton and we are excited to be able to do this with them,” Shackelford said.

Reflecting on the team’s journey to the state championship, Shackelford expressed her pride in the players’ dedication.

“I’m just so proud of them. They have worked really hard to get here and I have every faith that they can do this,” she said.