The game went to the always-agonising penalty shootout, and Marist made history by taking it 4-2, sweating on Cambridge's final attempt.
"When they missed, Cambridge just fell to their knees with disbelief," said Graham.
"The Wanganui players just huddled together, a massive hug, just absolute elation.
"For me, it was particularly pleasing because I scored one of the penalties. I've scored the most goals in the challenge, it was nice to score for Wanganui this time.
"There's a couple of guys who were young teenagers when we started this, and now they're young men."
Typical of footballers, the trophy did the rounds of Whanganui's households and local bars, with photos of it being taken in many locations with various poses.
Graham said Cambridge are eager to come to Wembley Park to try and reclaim the trophy next year, but given the Marist players love going on the road trip for the game, they may play the match at a neutral venue in Taupo so everyone can pub crawl home.
The Hippo Cup gets its name for the identifying features of the two club's home bases - Cambridge is known for horses and Whanganui is known for the river.
"Hippo is a 'river horse' - so it's a combination of the two towns," said Graham.