5 Arizona Women Chosen As The Grand Marshals For Fiesta Bowl Parade

Five women with connections to Arizona have been named grand marshals for the Fiesta Bowl parade.

Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi, U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team players Julie Ertz and Jessica McDonald, U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Allysa Seely and Special Olympics golfer Amy Bockerstette will be the grand marshals for the Fiesta Bowl parade, the organization announced Wednesday in a press release.

This year’s parade is scheduled for Dec. 28, beginning at 9 a.m. The route will send the parade through the streets of Central Phoenix.

“Celebrating women in sports in Arizona is important to honor within our community,” Mike Nealy, Fiesta Bowl executive director, said in the release. “This year’s grand marshals have amazed us with their athletic accomplishments and are an inspiration for the next generation of female athletes.”

All five of these women have been in the news this year due to their astonishing accomplishments.

Taurasi recently finished her 15th season with the Phoenix Mercury and remains one of the most popular players in the WNBA.

Ertz, from Mesa and McDonald, from Phoenix, were members of the USWNT team that won the World Cup this summer.

Seely won an ESPY this year for Best Female Athlete with a Disability and is a graduate of Mountain Ridge High School and Arizona State University.

Bockerstette is the first Special Olympics athlete to receive a full college athletic scholarship and plays golf for Paradise Valley Community College.

Past women to serve as Fiesta Bowl parade grand marshals include Janet Evans, Jennie Finch, Missy Franklin, Natalie Gulbis, Misty Hyman, Kerri Strug and Amy Van Dyken-Rouen.

Click here to learn more and purchase tickets for the Fiesta Bowl Parade.