Fairfax Falcons wheelchair basketball team headed to nationals

FAIRFAX, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - A local wheelchair basketball team is off to compete at nationals next week.

The Fairfax Falcons are currently ranked seventh in the country, but they are hoping to win it all at the National Championship Tournament in Chicago, where 32 teams will compete.

The co-ed team made up of local high school students has qualified for the tournament in the past, but not with a ranking this high.

The teammates say they've been playing together and preparing for the event for years.

"It's been our dream to be able to get first in the country and we have gotten so close we can't just let it go now we have to take it," said Ben Menard, a center on the team.

"It's so rewarding for the kids, the effort that they give and you don't know their day to day situations. They are coming from medical conditions, hospitals -- missing weeks of practice because of that. But they come out here and give me 100 percent -- it's amazing. We have had kids on the team that have passed away…one passed away from cancer so we take a moment and recognize them," said coach Dan Malloy.

The tournament starts next Friday.